The Tomb of Light
by Soniclink137
Summary: A tomb discovered in the Sand Continent bears Light's name. Upon that discovery, Light and Fennix join their leaders over at the tomb to see what secrets it has on their pasts. Espurr follows along as the Expedition Society's new navigator, the young girl grasping with the feelings of being left out from the same past her two friends share. A Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon story.
1. Prologue: A Tomb Found

"Let's do our best out there team!"

"Yes ma'am!"

To a random passerby, morning announcements within the Expedition Society sounded the same as an average day. The Chief of the society spoke about what was going on and everyone responded. However, for those who were actually in the building, there was a massive difference. Instead of Ampharos giving the announcements, the Chief's job was instead replaced with their head of communications, Dedenne. And their second in command, Mawile, was also gone. But the crew kept on as normal, and with morning announcements done, most of the society left to their daily activities. Only the three youngest members, Light, Fennix, and Lilac, along with those whose jobs were inside the building were left.

Light stayed behind when everyone else left to specifically talk to Dedenne. "So, hear anything from the Chief lately?"

"Sorry, nothing," Dedenne apologized. "He's got Mawile with him, though, so I'm sure he's fine."

The pikachu turned his attention next towards Lilac, the Society's navigator. "What about you, Espurr? Have you heard anything?"

Lilac shook her head. "If I had, I'd tell you. Unfortunately, the Chief is on the far western edge of the Sand Continent. He's well beyond my range. Even with these things." Lilac placed her right paw on the blue headphones with an antenna she wore over her large ears, an extender for her strong Psychic abilities. "If you're really worried, we could always take a trip to the Sand Continent. I'm sure I could sense him from Sahra Town. But the Chief is probably fine. And he's got Mawile with him, too."

Fennix yawned, the fennekin stretching her forpaws across the ground. "Come on, Light, do you really have to worry that much? And I thought you were just a worrywart around me!"

Light rubbed the back of his head with his left paw. "I-I mean, it has been a week. So you can't entirely blame me for being worried about them."

"Half of which was probably just sailing to that location." However, Lilac smiled and chuckled a bit. "Do you really want me to check? Because I can?"

Light shook his head. "You've got your own job you need to worry about. Besides, you guys are right. The Chief and Mawile can take care of themselves. This is going to unsettle me for a while, but I'll get over it eventually. We've got our own job to do as well, and we can't shirk our work just because I'm a little nervous. I'll be fine."

Fennix leaped to Light's side. "Finally! Let's get to work, then! I've been going stir crazy just sitting here!"

"And you won't go stir crazy on Lapras?" Light snarked with a large smile on his face. "We're heading to the Air Continent today, remember? We've got a couple hours ride today. So I hope you don't mind waiting around."

"Ugg…really?" Fennix groaned, her head lowered towards the ground. "Can't we go somewhere on the Water Continent today?"

Light shook his head and adjusted his bag. "Nope. You know we already have a mission we promised to do. At least we aren't going too far today. The Air Continent is the shortest ride possible. Sorry Fennix, that's how things are."

Fennix rolled her eyes. "Fine. Let's hurry up, then! I want to be off Lapras and on the Air Continent as soon as possible."

Without waiting for Light to follow her, Fennix dashed off and out of the building. The pikachu chuckled as he watched her run off. After taking a moment to adjust his green-stripped scarf, Light waved at Lilac and Dedenne before running off on four paws to follow after her.

"Geez, those two," Dedenne mumbled as soon as they were gone. "Who would have thought two kids like them would be some of our best teammates."

"Light certainly is a… 'worrywart,'" Lilac admitted. "And Fennix is as impulsive as usual. I suppose those two balance each other out, though. Fennix helps him take more risks and Light keeps her from running off too far."

"You gotta wonder. They were apparently once a human and a Mew back in the ancient past. Do you think the two acted the same even back then? Since the two of them go back so far?"

Lilac looked away from Dedenne for a second, her right paw rubbing across the right side of her face, just below her covered ears. Her eyes were momentarily lowered to the ground and she couldn't prevent a soft sigh from escaping her lips. However, she soon shook her head to get rid of all the thoughts swirling around in her head.

"It's certainly something to wonder, but I doubt we'll ever know," Lilac eventually responded, facing Dedenne once again. "Fennix has no memories of it at all while Light only has a vague feeling or two. Neither of them really know much about the past. Only Mr. Carracosta really knows anything, and even then, I doubt even he can tell us everything."

"Augustus Carracosta Reminiscor," Dedenne mumbled wistfully. "If you would've told me that Carracosta was descended from one of Mew's allies before, I wouldn't have believed you. Double that he had so much info on Mew and Light's old adventures. I would have just assumed that Fennix was boasting, as usual. It happened only a couple of months ago, but it's still odd to think about even now. I guess a bunch of surprises came out of that sleepy town."

Lilac nodded. "A human, a Mew, a Pokémon who turned other Pokémon to stone, and the descendent of one of Mew's old allies. And…" Lilac looked away for a second and spoke softly, "the daughter of two criminals." She shook her head and went back to her normal voice. "It is sort of odd that such a small town has such a variety. Next thing we'll learn is that Principal Simipour is a Voice of Life."

"What do you think attracts so many strange Pokémon to such a small town?"

Lilac looked to the west side of the building wistfully. "Maybe it's because it's such a small town. It's easier to avoid being noticed by the world at large. Sure, we all know each other by face, but we don't necessarily know each other's secrets. So you can hide behind familiarity in a world far away from livelier towns like here. Fennix never liked how cut off from the rest of the world it was, but it does have its advantages."

"I suppose so. Though I personally can't imagine living in Serene Village, even if it was to hide away. I've lived in Lively Town all my life."

"Yeah, I guess you would say that," Lilac responded with a smile.

With everything said that needed to be said, Lilac nodded towards Dedenne before she closed her eyes and extended her mind to focus on everyone that had a signal from an Expedition Gadget. Technically, she was supposed to mainly focus on Light and Fennix while she got used to her duty as a navigator, but her curiosity always drove her to quietly check on everyone else as well. After all, Light and Fennix were on Lapras in the middle of the sea at this point. There was nothing really to focus on for them, and they could always contact her if they really needed her with a simple telepathic shout. So the espurr focused on Buizel, Bunnelby, and Archen.

However, while she was lost in her thoughts, Dedenne's cheeks started sparking with an electronic signal. Lilac didn't notice anything right away, but she eventually felt the static electricity mess with her fur, causing the left ends to stick up a little. Then, she heard Dedenne's voice.

"Oh, Chief! I can hear you loud and clear! We were just talking about you, actually!"

"Chief?!" Lilac's eyes flew open and she quickly swung her head towards Dedenne. Dedenne, as if sensing Lilac's wish, send her signal to the Psychic-type's Expedition Gadget, producing a small buzzing sound from it. Lilac quickly took the call and repeated her previous exclamation.

"Hello little Espurr!" the Expedition Society's Chief, Ampharos, called from the other side. "It sounds like you're doing well."

"Well, do spend most of my time in the building," Lilac shrugged. "Only thing I'm in danger of is mentally straining myself. What about you? It's been a week, and Light was beginning to get a little worried about you this morning."

"Sorry, but we had nothing to report," Mawile explained. "For reasons we'll explain later, we've been taking things very slowly. And we did take a while to get there in the first place. But we have some information now."

"Now back to why we called. Are Light and Fennix still there at the building, or have they left already?"

Lilac chuckled. "Bad timing, Chief. They left for the Air Continent already. Their mission shouldn't take them too long, though. A sailor over there contacted us, asking to trade some items for information on a possibly uncharted island in the Sea of Wonders. The meeting place is in Baram Town and it shouldn't take long for the two to get the info and sail back. I'd expect them back around the mid-afternoon or early evening."

"If this is important, we can call them back," Dedenne chimed in next.

"No, no, no, that's quite alright, Dedenne. We musn't ignore Light and Fennix's map making duties, and they'll be back soon enough anyways. We'll just halt our investigation for a bit until then."

"'Investigation'," Lilac repeated Ampharos's words. It didn't take her too long to realize what sort of investigation their Chief was conducting that would need Light and Fennix's help. It was an immediate thought, helped by the fact that she and Dedenne were just previously talking about the subject. "Did you find some information about the ancient past with Mew?"

"Indeed, we did!" The thought of Ampharos posing after his speech, despite the fact that they weren't able to see each other, entered Lilac's mind and she found some amusement from it. "As for the details, I wish to give those to Light and Fennix first and foremost when they return."

Dedenne nodded, another action made despite the lack of visual communication. "Alright, Chief. I'll contact you as soon as Light and Fennix come back from their mission. Until then, try and sleep, you two. How late at night is it over there?"

"Quite late, thanks," Mawile stated tiredly. "We'll make contact in the morning for us, afternoon for you, then."

"Then sleep, you two!" Dedenne commanded. "We'll contact you two later."

* * *

As Lilac suggested, Light and Fennix returned back to Lively Town by the late afternoon, when the sun was a little more than forty-five degrees in the eastern horizon. Light and Fennix both hopped off Lapras quickly when they docked and the two of them stretched their limbs out wide to relieve some of the cramps from traveling so much. Light felt surprisingly tired for how little they did, a sentiment he soon learned that his partner shared.

"Geez, two trips on Lapras in one day," Fennix groaned. "Can we never do this again? I swear, I've seen more than enough sea to last an entire lifetime today."

Light shrugged, naturally less bothered by it than his friend. "Better get used to it. We've got the info for the Sea of Wonders. We're probably heading there tomorrow. Which means more sailing."

"Yeah, but that also means map making and exploring too. So at least we have something interesting."

The two were done stretching and were making their way away from the harbor and off towards the. "Our jobs can't be going from excitement to excitement each day. Sometimes we have to do some boring stuff. Just remember, tomorrow will be better. That's what I do to get myself through it."

"But complaining is more fun," Fennix whined in a joking manner.

"For you maybe," Light snarked back. "But Espurr and I have to hear it from you."

" _And that does get tedious at times, admittedly."_ Lilac's voice suddenly chimed in Light and Fennix's head. " _But that's beside the point. Welcome back to Lively Town, you two!"_

" _Thanks Lilac,"_ Light telepathically responded. " _Anything interesting happen today while we were gone? Or was it a typical day?"_

" _Same old, same old basically. Nothing too new. However, the Chief actually contacted us this morning, a few minutes after you guys left. He was looking for you. You guys should've stuck around for a few minutes before leaving. Oops."_

Light smiled and chuckled at the thought while Fennix responded. " _Hey, sorry we have a job to do! What did he need us for anyways?"_

" _He didn't tell us, since he was waiting for you. But we know that he's investigating something. And if he's investigating something and needs your help, well… there are few things I can imagine it being."_

"Our pasts!" Light and Fennix blurted out at the same time, their gazes instantly on each other.

" _He also told us to contact him when you get back. So hurry on over if you want more information!"_

" _We're on it!"_ Fennix immediately blitzed offalmost as she was speaking, leaving Light in the dust as usual. The pikachu rolled his eyes before quickly lowering himself onto his four paws to run after her. It was only a few seconds later when they both ran into the main hall where Lilac and Dedenne were waiting.

"So, what super-secret mission does the Chief want?" Fennix asked quickly, her recent running not keeping her from running her mouth.

"'Super-secret mission?'" Dedenne repeated, her eyes rolling. "Someone's got high expectations. Anyways, I'll contact him now and we'll see what he has to say."

So Dedenne closed her eyes and yellow sparks of electricity began forming from her whiskers in constant pulses. She kept her eyes closed, doing that for a second, before a buzzing noise came from Light's, Fennix's, and Lilac's respective Expedition Gadgets. Light pulled his out of his scarf and clicked on the center to listen to the caller.

"Hello, Light, Fennix!" Ampharos's melodic voice came from all around the room thanks to the many communication devices that were playing his voice.

"Hi, Chief," both Light and Fennix responded in tandem.

"So, I hear that you need us for something?" Light asked. "Also, is Mawile there, too?"

"I am, though I'm a little tired," Mawile's voice finally came, and just from her weary tone Light could tell. "We've been busy for a while and it's not easy to sleep in the current situation. Not that the Chief would anyways."

Light chucked at the statement. Since the pikachu had been working for the Expedition Society he learned one very important thing about Ampharos. Things such as "a healthy amount of sleep" didn't seem to apply to him at all. Their doctor was often seen mumbling about how he overworks himself. Light even wondered whether Ampharos's staggering around unfamiliar areas had something to do with his typical lack of sleep.

"Are things really that hectic around there?" Light asked.

"In a sense," Mawile answered. "Chief, if you would?"

"As a reminder, we have been taking a trip to the western edges of the Sand Continent. We heard rumors of ruins back there, thousands of years old. Naturally, we wanted to move before treasure hunters and outlaws poured over the place, which was why we suddenly left without so much of an explanation other than the area."

Light nodded understandingly. "Makes sense. If word reached our ears, then I can't imagine how many bandits and looters have already went into the ruins looking for whatever they can."

"We thought the same. However, when we came close, we learned a few disturbing facts. First off, that the exact location of the ruins itself wasn't that well known among the locals. We found it strange for such a well-known rumor to have such a vague location. Then we learned exactly why. Many treasure hunters had already beat us to the ruins. None of them have returned."

"What?!" Everyone in the room all called out in pure shock at the same time.

Nobody managed to say anything else, so Ampharos continued. "As such, we've been taking our research of the ruins very slowly. Disappearing is not very high on my list of things to do. And we discovered some footprint-shaped text written in the ancient language carved into one of the walls."

"The ancient language," Light repeated. "Yep, I know why you called us here, then. This definitely has something to do with our pasts, doesn't it?"

"You, specifically, Light," Ampharos answered. "After all, the text told us the name of the ruins. In the ancient past, they were once called the Tomb of Light."

Silence came over the room for a few seconds as everyone took in the words Ampharos said, mostly thanks to the absurdity of them. Everyone's eyes glazed over to Light, as if somehow to make sure he was still there. Light felt his face warm up a little of having everyone gaze at him.

"Sorry guys, I never told you, but I've been dead all this time. I'm actually a ghost," Light joked, a wide smile on his face.

The reactions were immediate. Fennix scooted backwards as far away as possible, until her tail was backed into the wall at the entrance to the guild, a look of pure horror on her face. Meanwhile, Lilac looked at Light with an inquisitive gaze, as if she wanted to dissect him. Light couldn't help but let out a chuckle as he looked between the two.

"I'm kidding, you two. Honestly, if I was actually a ghost, I think we would have known a long time ago. Probably around the moment where Fennix first lit my tail on fire. Or the other times."

Fennix slowly walked back towards the rest of the group. "W-well maybe I was just checking to make sure you weren't a ghost."

Nobody in the room believed her obvious lie, and Lilac sighed and rolled her eyes. "I doubt it's talking about the Light we know. It's probably is something symbolic, like light as in the actual concept of light."

"Unfortunately, while I hate to contradict you, that is incorrect," Ampharos interrupted. "It is indeed Light as in our friend Light."

Everyone looked back towards their gadgets.

"How do you know?" Light asked.

"Because the ancient language itself makes a distinction." Mawile's tired voice came next. "In the ancient language, light as a concept and Light, the ally of Mew, are two different and distinct words that have different symbols associated with them. Light the concept of brightness is known as 'lumis' and is where we get words like 'luminous water.' Light, the ally of Mew, has no exact word in the Ancient Language. However, the concept is best described as 'the human who stood up against Dark Matter.' As you can imagine, once I see the rune for Light, it's hard to mistake it for anything else. This Tomb of Light is unmistakably referring to our Light."

"B-but…that's impossible!" Fennix blurted. "Light's right here! He isn't dead! So why is there a tomb for him? Aren't tombs for dead people?"

"We're not entirely sure either," Ampharos said. "But there is one Pokémon who might know why. That's why we have a task for you, Team Rebirth. We ourselves will continue investigating these ruins, but while we're doing that we want you two to return to Serene Village. Perhaps your father, Fennix, might know why such a tomb was built or for what purpose. We may also have you two join us here afterwards."

Fennix smiled widely at the mention of her father. "Yeah, you're right! Pops'll know all about whatever this weird tomb thing is! Come on, Light! Let's go!"

Light rolled his eyes and chuckled. "We'll go after we eat something. I'm pretty hungry and I'll bet you are too." The pikachu focused back on the gadget. "We'll get right on that, Chief! Once we talk to Carracosta, we'll tell you what he knows."

"Thanks you. Espurr, since Serene Village is also your home town, you may join Light and Fennix if you would like. We may also need your navigation skills for exploring the ruins, especially if it's as dangerous as the locals seem to suggest it is."

"I'll do that," Lilac said. "Sounds like it'll be interesting. Plus, it could be fun traveling around with a ghost."

"Seriously, that's not funny!" Fennix quivered.

Light chuckled before making his way towards the mess hall. Lilac followed soon after with an Fennix trailing behind. "So, any bets as to what's in that tomb?" Light asked while they walked.

"I betcha it's something cool involving our past lives," Fennix said before she rushed towards Light's side. "Maybe we hid some super cool secret treasure before we came to this world, or something."

"And we decided it wouldn't be useful against Dark Matter?" Light asked. "Otherwise, wouldn't we just give those items to Carracosta's ancestor so they could give it to us along with the Harmony Scarves?"

"And what do you think it is?"

Light shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not entirely sure. The fact that it's a tomb of all things is kinda weird. But I kinda doubt we'll find any sort of treasure there. Information on the past, probably, but I'm not expecting any treasure."

Fennix scoffed. "Spoil sport."

The two continued debating on what connection to their past the tomb could possibly give, all while completely unaware of the Pokemon trailing behind them, unable to join the conversation at all.

* * *

 **AN:** Hello readers and welcome to my newest fanfic. This one took me a while, since I was planning on doing another story next, but put that on hold/potentially scrapped it after deciding I didn't like where it was going. So I'm doing this story instead. I've been enjoying writing this story more anyways, and it's always nice to delve back into the past lore that I expanded from Super.

I can't say how frequently this will be updated. School is in session, like with everyone else, and I don't have as many backlog chapters as I would like. Still, I'll try and not leave month long gaps between chapters or anything.

With that being said, however, I'll see you all later with the next chapter.

Beta read by TheGoldCrow


	2. Distance

"So, you're here to ask me about the Ancient Past…"

It was late afternoon by the time the three Pokémon made it to Serene Village. Naturally, they passed by several of their old friends as they crossed through the village—Goomy and Deerling were hanging out together in the square and they passed by both Bedew and her mother Roselia on the path to Carracosta's house—to which Light waved and gave each of them a wide smile, Fennix loudly said "hi", and Lilac gave a courteous nod too. Of course, while all parties would have loved to chat and catch up, as it had been several weeks since the three children last stepped in Serene Village, they were all on duty, so greetings were all they had time for before they went towards Carracosta's house. Fennix's father, upon seeing the three of them, made them a quick meal before they sat around the table and told him the situation.

While they were beginning to eat, Light telepathically told Lilac about each of the four allies of Mew back in the past, to which he guessed Carracosta would bring up. Wartortle, who was Carracosta's ancestor and the one who started the Reminiscor tradition in the first place. Florence the pikachu, who lived back when the Water and Mist Continents were together as one. Puriah the braixen, who was an oracle that lived in the Sand Continent. And finally, Clover the shaymin, who was an adventurer that went all over the world looking for treasure. Lilac nodded her thanks for Light giving her context about what Carracosta might bring up.

"Unfortunately, in this area, I can't help you." Carracosta placed a book down on the table. "A 'Tomb of Light' never came up within Wartortle's notes about what happened after Dark Matter was destroyed."

"So…you don't know either," Light mused, his left paw rubbing the back of his head.

"Would anyone else have built it?" Lilac asked next.

Carracosta looked through his book and mused. "The possibility is certainly there. About a year after Dark Matter was destroyed, Light and Mew just simply vanished from the world. Wartortle speculated for a while about what could have possibly happened to them, but never quite knew for sure. Death was certainly a possibility on his mind, though. And if the others thought the same, then one of them might've built it."

Light and Fennix both looked solemnly at their plates. "So…they thought we might've died after everything?" Fennix whispered.

Lilac glanced at Light and Fennix and could easily pick up feelings of sadness coming from the two of them. Before she could say anything to try and help, however, Carracosta spoke unhesitatingly.

"I said that it was a possibility. One that was likely shared by all of your old allies. Another possibility he thought of was that Light returned to the human world, and that Mew followed him. Still another was that they were both hiding and waiting for another catastrophe to hit the world. There were many guesses he made. I'm just giving a suggestion. Don't foolishly latch on to one possibility that you make yourself blind to everything else. It'll only hurt you unnecessarily."

"It wouldn't be your ancestor that we should be focused on anyways, right?" Lilac asked to change the subject. "The Sand Continent is where Puriah was. Wouldn't she be the one that built it, then?"

Carracosta turned his gaze to Lilac and nodded. "Either that, or she commissioned someone to build it. As an Oracle back when the Sand Continent was the wealthy and prosperous Golden Continent, she would have the influence to do so. Unfortunately, I can't say whether she did or not."

Light tilted his head. "Wouldn't Puriah have mentioned something like that to Wartortle at some point in time? They were friends, and she was building something for another friend. If I were in her situation, I'd tell him."

Carracosta shook his head. "No, she did not. Though that doesn't entirely surprise me. Wartortle wrote that he felt a sort of separation once they all went their separate ways. They tried to communicate with each other, but they ended up all drifting apart as they focused on their own duties."

Lilac looked towards her plate. "They…did?" she whispered so softly that nobody else in the room could hear it. "Even after…all that?"

"So, you really have no idea what the ruins could be for…" Light mused.

"Sadly, I do not. Or at least, I don't have any reference from my ancestor as to why Puriah made those ruins, assuming she did so. However, I can speculate on something. And it's been something that has bugged me for a while since I've been reading my ancestor's journals again. And if this is the 'Tomb of Light' as you say it is, then it might have the answer to that question."

Carracosta's eyes went towards Light. "Have any of you ever wondered how exactly was it that Light, as a human, was able to fight alongside Pokémon?"

All eyes also went towards Light, his face turning slightly read as he garnered so much attention. "I…was asked that once before. And honestly, I don't really know."

"Is there something about being a human that would keep him from being able to fight?" Lilac asked, her eyes wide as she looked at Light curiously.

"Supposedly, Light had no elemental powers. He instead fought with what my ancestor called a larger than normal knife and basic punches and kicks that were weaker than what most Fighting-types could do. Because of that, Light stayed in the back most of the fights, supporting his teammates with something else. He was supposedly given some sort of object from the Legendary Pokémon that allowed him to grant power to his allies. It was through that object that Light helped the fight against Dark Matter."

"'An…object that let me give power to my allies?'" Light repeated as he looked down to his neck and paws. "There's something I used to have that let me do that?"

"Unfortunately, Wartortle's description of said object is lacking, so I'm not entirely sure what it could be. But it appears that whatever it was, it made the moves of whoever used it that much more powerful. Though it also drained Light's energy upon use, so he could only do it sparingly."

"But either way, you think that object might be what's in the tomb?" Lilac asked.

"I think there is a possibility. There's also the possibility that said item has been lost to time, so it's foolish to assume it still exists." As Carracosta said that, Light's eyes trailed towards Fennix and saw her looking at her father with anticipation. "If it were to still exist, I imagine in a tomb named after Light would be the best place to find it. But we have no way of knowing if such a thing is truly there or not. There's no records from any of my ancestors that tells us what happened to Light's equipment after he was done using it. It could have easily been lost or destroyed."

"Too late, Carracosta," Light snarked. "You already got her excited. Funny how the talk of treasure brightened her mood."

Fennix was smiling from ear to ear. "Pfft, no need to be a spoilsport, you two. Come on, there's the possibility that we might find some super cool new power! Why shouldn't I be excited?"

"I don't think 'it might not be there' is enough of a deterrent for her," Lilac mumbled under her breath.

"I'll assume you're asking all these questions because you plan on exploring those ruins along with your leaders?" Carracosta asked.

Light nodded. "Even if there's nothing to find, we still want to check it out. There could be some sort of link to our past. Plus…there's something odd about it. Apparently, other Pokémon who tried checking out the ruins have disappeared." Light paused for a moment. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you? Why Pokémon are just suddenly disappearing from there?"

"Unfortunately, I can't answer that either. All I can do is warn you to be careful. Between the world Puriah lived in and the world we lived in now, many things have changed. I have no doubts that, whatever you will be dealing with, is something that has not been seen for many generations."

* * *

Light and Fennix both left to report what they heard from Carracosta to Ampharos and Mawile, leaving Lilac to finish her meal along with Carracosta. But while Lilac did eat, it was at a particularly slow pace. Carracosta noticed this and waited for her to swallow the food that was in her mouth before bringing it up.

"Something on your mind, child?" he asked in a comforting voice.

"It's noth…" Lilac started, but she stopped before she could finish that statement. "I suppose…if you thought it was just nothing you wouldn't be asking in the first place. Sorry."

"If you don't want to talk about it, you can hold your tongue. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But let me tell you this, it's foolish to believe that holding everything in will cause something to change. After all, I'm sure you remember the last time you attempted to do that."

Lilac paused for a moment, bitter memories in her mind of the time she was inches from death and hiding her pain from everyone. "…I'm just wondering. You mentioned that your ancestor felt disconnected from the rest of his friends after everything was done. Did he ever mention why he felt that way? Because they were all friends who fought against Dark Matter together. You'd think going through something like that would keep them together."

Carracosta nodded. "I imagine, considering your experience. You helped the Expedition Society in the recent battle, an experience that I can't imagine will ever leave you. However, obligation and distance kept them all apart. Florence had his obligations to his village, Puriah had her obligations as an oracle of the Golden Continent, Wartortle was founding Serene Village, and Clover was stuck in the Tree of Life because of her injuries in the battle. They tried to keep in contact, but they eventually just drifted apart."

Lilac looked out the door at Light and Fennix, who were bathed in the sunset as they talked. "That's, pretty sad. They always say friendship can last forever but I guess in some cases it's merely fleeting..." she mumbled.

"It's an unfortunate facet of life." Carracosta's face came to view as Lilac turned around to face him once again, and it was one of melancholy. "Friendships can fade with time and Pokémon can become drawn apart. It's one of the cruelties of adulthood. I have had many friends from my childhood that I have drifted apart from. So what happened to my ancestor is not unusual, as sad as it is."

Lilac looked once again to her friends. "I hope that doesn't happen to us," she mumbled.

"Do you really believe that Light, Fennix, and you will drift apart?" Carracosta asked.

Lilac turned back towards him. "Light and Fennix…no. Those two are so close that I can't imagine them drifting apart anytime soon. Fennix means the world to Light, and the feeling is mutual with her. Not only that, but they've been connected for many years even before all this. They'll stick together. But well…" Lilac clutched her right arm with her left paw. "As selfish as I feel about it, I can't help but worry about myself."

"Light and Fennix seem to be close to you, too," Carracosta pointed out. "Just a month ago they went halfway across the world to cure you of an illness."

Lilac shivered at the mention of that event. "I know. But I've noticed something else lately. There's a lot I've…missed since those two went to the Expedition Society. Light and Fennix love to make joking comments at each other, usually about some sort of event that happened while they were off exploring. And jokes about Fennix lighting Light's tail on fire accidently, I can get. But jokes about some sort of 'Chesto Berry incident' happen, well…I can't really join in the conversation when I can't even imagine what sort of incident they could have with a Chesto Berry."

"…Chesto Berry incident?" Carracosta's tilted head at the thought.

Lilac could almost laugh as someone shared her confusion. "Honestly, I'm so tempted to look into their minds sometime when they're talking about it to figure it out. It'd clear up so much. But…they're my friends and I'd rather not invade their privacy. The mind isn't always a fun thing to read."

"Have you tried simply asking them for context?" Carracosta asked with all the controlled patience of an adult.

Lilac looked away slightly. "Yes, I have. But there's more to it than that." Lilac faced Carracosta once again. "Light used to be a human and Fennix used to be Mew. They've known each other even before all this. And even if they've forgotten about it, it's still a subject that pops up occasionally. But the only thing I know about the past is…basically everything they've told me. And I can't really join in there too. I know I could just ask about that too but…"

"Once again, this could be solved with simple communication. Even if it's awkward for you, if I know anything of my daughter, she loves to tell any stories she could. And if it's too embarrassing for her, Light would probably spill the beans himself just for a good laugh. Those two would be happy to tell you anything you want."

Carracosta paused for a moment before looking at Lilac dead in the eye. "This has more to do than just not being a part of inside jokes, isn't it? You look at how close their relationship is, how much they laugh together, joke together, have fun together, and then you look at your relationship to them in comparison, and you can sense the difference. What you're feeling is a sense of longingness to have the same relationship that they do."

Lilac was silent. She hated to admit it, but Carracosta hit the nail right on the head. He read her like a book, the true reason she felt so separate from them. Beyond the inside jokes or her lack of a connection with the ancient past.

"Light and Fennix mean a lot to me. In school, I was always the smart kid. I was always the one who knew everything. Because of that, everyone always treated me differently. I was respected by everyone from class and my teachers, but I never really had anyone I could really say I was close to. And without any parents, I never had any family. But then I met Light, who treated me like he'd treat anyone else despite being a prodigy. And then I got to know Fennix and realize we have a lot more in common than I thought. They became my best friends, and those two are the first Pokemon who I felt like I was able to be myself around. That's part of the reason why I wanted them to call me by my family name in the first place, instead of just Espurr."

Lilac grabbed her paw again. "I know they consider me a close friend, but I can tell that their relationship together is stronger than mine with them. When they talk together, when they laugh together, all the inside jokes, all the comments on their shared past, I feel left out. And I'm worried that they'll move closer and closer, while I'll get left behind."

Carracosta looked over Lilac's head and Lilac heard the sound of paws coming up from behind her. They both knew that Light and Fennix were done giving their report to Ampharos and were starting to come back into the building. Before they were within earshot, though, Carracosta once again looked at Lilac and whispered one last thing to her.

"You should do the same thing. Talk to Light and Fennix and explain to them how you feel. Otherwise, nothing will ever change."

* * *

As much as Carracosta recommended that Lilac explain herself, the unfortunate truth was that Lilac wasn't really able to just do it, no matter how easy he made it seem. It's not as if she had no opportunity either. Since Ampharos and Mawile wanted them to come to the tomb in the Sand-Continent, an extremely long trip both to Lively Town to take Lapras, and riding across the sea to their destination, she had plenty of opportunities to talk to Light and Fennix. They were basically alone with nobody listening in for a large length of time. But while the words hung upon her lips, she wasn't really able to relay it to them.

She could have maybe excused herself during the trip to Lively Town, since most of the trip to there was filled with casual conversations by the three of them. Of course, the conversations never reached a point where Lilac could butt in with her own thoughts and worries, but the casual conversation itself was a nice distraction. However, once they got on Lapras and went towards the Sand Continent, she had no excuse. Especially since the trip itself would take two days. Which Fennix immediately started groaning about upon leaving the harbor.

"Ugg…long trips on Lapras suck."

"Just don't try and swim your way to the Sand Continent," Light snarked. "Last time you tried that you turned into a Water-type for a few days. That was a certainly an interesting experience."

Fennix stomped her right forepaw on the shell. "Hey, I still made it!"

"To a random island in the middle of the Sea of Wonders. Which was both deserted and nowhere near where we had to go. And you were so exhausted that I had to carry you back onto Lapras so we could go where we needed to go. Which made me tired because you're…"

Fennix glared at him, stopping his statement before it could finish. "Say I'm too heavy and I'll turn you into a Fire-type for the rest of the trip."

Light just chuckled while Fennix continued to spit fire at him. But despite everything, Lilac could sense that she wasn't too angry. She took no offence to Light's words at all and was in fact trying to come up with her own comebacks. It was all a game to them. And at the end of it, they would both laugh as their bond remained secure. It was a strange thing to watch, seeing what appeared to be arguing as nothing but banter between friends. But it was because of how close the two were that Light knew he could banter at her without her feeling any offence to it.

However, Lilac couldn't help but feel the pangs of jealousy wash over her as she watched their chatter from afar, herself completely forgotten. Jealousy at who, she wasn't entirely sure. Jealousy at what, she wasn't entirely sure. But she knew that Light would never make a snarking comment at her like he did with Fennix. And she knew that she wouldn't be able to take it without offence and just keep on going as Fennix did. The gap between herself and those two's relationship was so very apparent to her.

And despite everything, once the two finally stopped chatting and went silent, Fennix closing her eyes and humming a small song and while Light removed the bag on his shoulder and sorted through it, Lilac still wasn't able to bring up her thoughts. She watched those two silently. 'You've still got the most of two days and it's late anyways' was her justification, but she knew it was a lie. It was the selfishness of what she thought that really kept her away.

 _Come on, Lilac, it's not that hard,_ she mentally tried to push herself. _Just…tell them how you feel. Just go up to Light…_ Lilac managed to get on her paws and walked towards him, _and tell him your thoughts._

"So…what are you checking your bag for?" was eventually what escaped her lips. She mentally cursed herself the moment she said that, however eventually concluded that saying _anything_ was better than being silent.

"Getting an idea of what we have in terms of items," Light mumbled, his eyes still on his bag. "Keleh Port doesn't have a Deposit Box, and, according to the Chief, they haven't found one at the tomb either. So we're stuck with what items we got from Lively Town for most of our trip, unless we want to cross the desert for the nearest town. Luckily, I stocked plenty of food, so we shouldn't have to worry about that. But I'm focusing more on other items."

"So in other words, Light's doing the boring job," Fennix interrupted her humming to snark. "Nothing unusual here."

Light shrugged nonchalantly before continuing to sort through. "Hey, somebody has to keep us all alive, and it sure isn't going to be you."

Lilac knew exactly where this would go very soon, so she quickly inserted herself back into the conversation. "So what items do we have to use?"

"Six Oran Berries, four Pecha Berries, two Rawst Berries, a couple of Heal Seeds, a Blast Seed just in case we need some sort of explosive, a Slumber Wand that has about 20 charges to it, and finally one Reviver Seed. That, along with some water and basic medical supplies."

"So in other words, be careful," Lilac concluded.

Light nodded. "Hopefully we'll be fine. Mawile and the Chief probably have their own items they brought. But Carracosta's warning does worry me some. Mystery Dungeons were different in the past…I can't help wonder what that means."

"That, and all the disappearances have got you worried as well, right?" Fennix asked.

Light nodded before looking gravely at both Lilac and Fennix. "Pokémon getting lost in Mystery Dungeons isn't anything too new. But disappearing without a trace and so suddenly too? I don't know, I just have a bad feeling that I can't really shake."

"So in other words, it's typical Light fair," Fennix said nonchalantly. "It's probably nothing more than a typical dungeon. I wouldn't worry too much about it, Espurr. Besides…" Fennix smiled wide in Light's direction, "we've got _that_ we can use now."

Light rolled his eyes. "In case you're wondering, Espurr, there's a new technique that Fennix and I have been working on for a while that Fennix has been dying to show off. But, since Fennix will be Fennix, she wants me to keep it a secret until we finally can. I don't know if it'll really help that much in the current situation, but it'll be nice."

Lilac paused for a moment. "I…understand. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see what you have."

Lilac wasn't lying, despite her hesitation. She did understand. Even back when they were younger, Fennix was always practicing something new that she would show off to the class later. This wasn't something unusual for her. But, whether she knew it or not, the fact that Fennix and Light were keeping this secret was just another example of the gap between Lilac's relationship and theirs.

* * *

 **AN:** So, for those of you who have read my earlier story, The Ancient Connection, you would've noticed that I changed the pikachu ally of Light and Mew's name. I kinda feel like I made a mistake with the previous name I used, due to the simple fact that I wanted to go with something complex and symbolic instead of something concise and easy to remember. So I retconned it. I plan on going back and changing it in my earlier stories where he was mentioned when I get the motivation to navigate through 's editing older stories system to go back and edit it. Probably will be about the same time I go back through the entire story to fix it of it's mistakes.

Anyways, I actually didn't intend for this to be another story with Espurr as the main character. I mean, I always did intend to write a story about how distant she felt from Light and Fennix, since they've been working together for more than 6 months while she only joined for a few weeks. It was actually when I was developing the plot around the Tomb of Light (which you can see shadows of already) that I decided to put Espurr's part of the plot in this. It required a certain change in the ending, but I'm actually fine with that. And I'll talk about that much later.

Beta read by TheGoldCrow


	3. Unsteady Ground

Unfortunately, Lilac couldn't express her worries or even hint at it for the next two days of travel they made. She certainly wanted to ask, but any opportunity over their days of travel were met with her feeling too selfish to ask. She wasn't even entirely sure how to tell the two about her problems. So she instead just focused on the passing scenery until they finally reached the Kalah Port.

When they got there, though, Lilac's mind immediately went off the subject of her own worries and instead she was focused on the situation at hand. When Light mentioned earlier that there was no Deposit Box, Lilac didn't really think of the implications of that statement. But that should have been her first clue something was wrong. Every town or port they had been in, including the secluded Serene Village, had a Deposit Box. So the fact that this place didn't should have been her first clue that…

"This place…is a ghost town," Lilac breathed.

Fennix flinched at that statement. "D-don't mention ghosts…but you're right."

Kalah Port was completely empty when they stepped off Lapras and onto the rotting wooden pier. For as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but sand and dust. If there was anything close to a 'town' it was all half-broken buildings or unidentifiable pieces of wood sticking out of the ground. A wind blew through the area, kicking up dust and sand that threatened to cover any sign that there was once life.

Lilac turned her gaze to Light. "Do you know what happened here? Why this port is…like this?"

Light shook his head. "I've heard of this port a few times from the locals of the Sand Continent, but this is the first time I've actually seen it. And while they talk about how it's nothing but a ghost town, nobody ever mentioned how this place got this way."

"It is believed that this place was destroyed around the same time that the Golden Continent itself became barren."

Light, Lilac, and Fennix all looked up from their conversation to see Ampharos and Mawile walking across the barren desert sands quite close to them. Of course, while Light and Fennix were surprised, Lilac just nodded in their direction, having sensed the two Pokémon approaching already. Still, she herself was amazed at how silent the two were during their approach.

"Chief, Mawile, good to see you," Lilac nodded as soon as the two got close. "But why are you here and not at the ruins?"

"We've unfortunately hit an impasse, and since we knew you were coming, we agreed it would be best to see the two of you to the ruins rather than try and go further," Mawile explained. "As I'm sure you're well aware, with the rumors floating around the tomb, we want a solid grasp on what we can expect before we attempt to dig further in."

Light nodded. "Makes sense."

Lilac stepped forward, facing Mawile. "You said this port was destroyed when the Sand Continent became the desert it is?" she asked for clarification. "How did that happen, exactly?"

"The Golden Continent was thrived thanks to constant exports to other regions. It was rich and abundant with many resources, twice the amount that can normally be found on either the Water Continent or the Grass Continent. However, the climate shifted, and they experienced something known as the 'Great Drought' by the locals. The entire continent was unable to get the rain it needed anymore, and the land wasted away. As you can imagine, without their exports, their trade died as well, and this port was soon abandoned. Now it has wasted away into the ghost town you see here."

Light took a thoughtful glance around the port. "…Wonder if I saw this place in its prime?" he mumbled to himself. Lilac could tell by his look that the pikachu didn't recognize anything, even though it was likely he wouldn't even if he still had his memories. Still, the pikachu seemed to be examining the environment for any stray area or object that he might recognize.

"Considering this would have been the major port during the time of your quest with Mew, and not Sahra Town which was founded much later, it's very possible," Mawile confirmed. "Though now is not the time to be hanging on sobering facts such as this. We cannot change the past, no matter how much we might wish. We can only research it and not make the same mistakes."

Fennix stamped down a paw with determination. "Yeah! It's really sad what happened here. Especially since this was Puriah's home and I'm sure she'd hate to see it like this. But she wouldn't want us to be sad like this! We gotta keep going, right? We've got our own mission to do, so we shouldn't really stand around here."

"Well put, young Fennix!" Ampharos cheered. "Now then, shall we go, crew?"

Light took a glance at Fennix before looking forward determinately as well. "Yeah, we should. Fennix, Espurr, let's head to the tomb."

"Yeah!" Fennix cheered.

Lilac paused for a moment but smiled at the thought that Light still remembered her. She gave Light a curious nod before the three of them caught up to Ampharos and Mawile and the small crew walked their way out of the ghost town and into the desert.

* * *

Despite it being later in the day, and the skies were as yellow as the sands they walked through, the heat of the desert was still rather overbearing. Thanks to the thoughtfulness of both Light and the leaders of the Expedition Society, there was more than enough water to pass around for everyone to avoid dehydration. However, Lilac could still feel the fatigue and the beads of sweat that rolled down her face.

"Yep, you can really tell it's getting close to summer," Light mumbled before wiping the sweat off of his forehead. "The hot desert gets hotter."

"I'm having no difficulty," Fennix teased with a smirk on her face, the fennekin almost looking lively within the desert heat. She skipped across the sand with great leaps and bounds and was ahead of the pack.

"Good for you," Lilac deadpanned back. She was the farthest behind, her eyes mostly on her two paws, making sure they were still going back and forth.

"Luckily, the path to the tomb will take us through a mountainous cavern." Mawile wiped the sweat off her brow before pointing forward. Lilac followed her gaze and save that, indeed, there was a large mountain range that towered high into the cloudless sky.

Lilac breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I can't wait to get out of this heat."

"The bad news is that the cavern itself is a Mystery Dungeon."

Light chuckled at the thought. "Welp, I guess we have to go around then," he said with a straight face. "It's not like we explore Mystery Dungeons on a regular basis or anything."

Lilac stopped for a moment, sensing Mawile's reservation even without her psychic powers. "Is the Mystery Dungeon dangerous?"

Mawile nodded. "We'll explain more once we reach there."

It wasn't much longer until they finally reached the mountainside. A large misshapen opening hung before them, one that seemed to be created by sudden shifts in the earth rather than erosion. Going in the light of the sun was darkened slightly, though not so much that it was difficult to see. And without the hot sunlight pouring down, the cave was cooler than the outside.

Lilac breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally. That was certainly…hotter than I was expecting. Too bad we don't keep a Water or Ice type around as company."

"Welcome to the Earthshaken Caverns, you guys," Ampharos announced. "While we've beaten the heat, be on your guards."

Lilac closed her eyes and focused her psychic power on detecting the area. "I assume you guys have gone through this place before?" she asked while she was focusing.

"We took it as a shortcut to reach you guys," Mawile said. "The dominant type here is Ground. Golem, dugtrio, sandslash, donphan, and diggersby can all be found here."

Lilac opened her eyes back up. "And drilbur if I'm not mistaken. And let's not forget, there are likely many Pokémon I'm unable to sense."

Light crossed his arms and tapped the ground with his right paw, his normally smiling face turned to a frown. "Great, so we're at a massive disadvantage here, then."

"The enemies themselves we're not too difficult for Ampharos and I to take care of," Mawile explained. "However, that was when it was just us."

Light nodded in understanding. "…Espurr, can you get a good gauge on where all the enemies are in the dungeon?"

Lilac immediately shook her head. "Sorry Light. The distortions that Mystery Dungeons create prevent my Psychic powers from working that well in them. I can sense the Pokémon, but where they are is beyond me. They feel like they're everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I'll be able to tell you when one gets close, but that's it."

"Understandable." Light took a quick look around before tapping his paw again. "Then when we can, we should explore in a double triangle pattern. Ampharos, Mawile, and I will lead the front while Espurr and Fennix can be behind. We'll form a wall while you two can attack from long range."

Fennix nodded and a fierce look appeared on her face. "Heh, Ground-types don't scare me! We'll show them!"

"I'll do the best I can as well," Lilac confirmed.

"Do you have a plan for when Earthquake or Earth Power is used by the enemy?" Mawile asked, her gaze tearing holes through Light.

Light didn't back down at all from her gaze, though, and instead he looked towards Lilac. "Espurr, with Psychic, how much weight can you hold and for how long?"

Lilac paused for a second at the suddenness of the question. However, she quickly thought through it and answered. "I can safely lift about thirty pounds safely for five or six seconds. It's not much, but that does far exceed my own weight." Lilac smiled. "I'm actually quite proud of my power."

"Alright, that'll be enough. Then, if you see a Pokémon about to use Earthquake, use Psychic to lift Fennix up, would you? I'll use Iron Tail myself to get off the ground, so I shouldn't need it."

For a moment Lilac felt a pang of jealousy shoot through her as Light prioritized Fennix's safety over everyone else's, but logic quickly pushed that feeling back. If Light could spring himself up then between herself and Fennix, the Fire-type was more vulnerable. Though a part of her still said that he would probably have still focused on Fennix's safety over her own, at least in this situation, what Light was suggesting was more logical.

"I'll do that," Lilac promised.

"Good." Ampharos turned to towards further in the cavern. "Now that we have a strategy, shall we be off crew?"

"Yes sir!"

The inside of the cavern itself wasn't too much of anything to look at, despite them having more than enough light to see through it. Dull gray rocks were scattered haphazardly across the path as if they were thrown there by some uncaring force of nature. The smaller rocks were pains on the souls of everyone's paws as they walked while the larger rocks that barred their path at some points required them to use their energy climbing over it.

"Was it an earthquake that created this cave?" Lilac eventually asked as they walked through.

"That would be correct, young Espurr," Ampharos cheerfully responded, looking back at the young girl. "Whether natural or created by the wild Pokémon in the area, we are unsure, but this area has been hit by several earthquakes."

"The cavern itself is a newer one to the Sand Continent, created only a year-and-a-half ago," Mawile continued Ampharos's point. She had her eyes still carefully looking through the cavern for any possible fights they might get into. "It was formed only a few months before it became a Mystery Dungeon."

"Ooo, so we're exploring a newer dungeon!" Fennix said with a skip in her step.

"Temper your excitement, there's nothing here but enemies," Mawile confirmed. "Speaking of which, Espurr. Have you sensed anything yet?"

"The enemies are certainly on the move, but none of them have come close to us ye…"

Lilac's words fell short as she sensed something in her mind's eye. She quickly closed her eyes to concentrate on the sensation. It wasn't long before she found exactly what disturbed her, her muscles tense as she noticed.

Lilac's eyes snapped open. "Two enemies coming from the front, a sandslash and a golem. At the speed they're going, they'll be here in a few seconds!"

The reaction was immediate. Everyone else tensed up those who weren't facing forward immediately did. Light himself crouched down to stand on four paws instead of two. Lilac focused all her psychic energy into attacking energy, ready to blast whatever came when they finally appeared.

"Chief, Mawile, Espurr, focus on the sandslash." Gone was Light's soft, comforting voice. In its place came quick commanding whispers. "Fennix…"

"Grass Knot Solarbeam on the golem," Fennix responded before Light could even finish his command. "Easy peasy."

"Be wary of how powerful the Solarbeam is," Mawile warned. "We don't know how unstable the cavern is."

The battle came to them before Fennix got the chance answer Mawile. As Lilac predicted, a sandslash and golem came into their field of vision, both Pokémon making a beeline for the five explorers. Light and Mawile both reacted instantly by rushing at the two opponents. Light reached the golem before anyone had time to even breath, his tail wreathed in silver. Once he got close enough, he jumped into the air and came spinning down with his tail on the golem. It all happened before the enemy could possibly do anything more than tilt his head away as Light hit its midsection with his Iron Tail. The impact was enough to push both opponents a few feet away from each other, Light professionally landing on his feet.

Meanwhile, Mawile reached her opponent once Light was done with his first clash. However, the sandslash was the one who chose to take the initiative, it's claws glowing white as it attempted to crush Mawile on both sides with those claws. Mawile showed no fear of the attack, letting both the hits from the Crush Claw bounce off her with no signs of visible damage. While the sandslash was reeling back from the failed impact, Mawile bit onto its outstretched right arm with the large jaw on the back of her head. With the sandslash securely clamped, Mawile threw it towards back towards her back and pinned him in the direction of Ampharos and Lilac.

"Attack when ready," Mawile grunted. The sandlash kept swiping at Mawile with his free claw, but none of its attacks affected her nor did she seem to be willing to let it go. "Worry not about me, I'll be fine."

Despite Mawile's words, Lilac hesitated at attacking it. However, Ampharos had no such qualms. From his gaping mouth came a stream of purple energy that soon covered both the sandslash and Mawile. Lilac's eyes widened as soon as she realized what Ampharos was doing. His Dragon Pulse, no matter how strong, would do no damage to Mawile. Seeing that gave her the confidence to launch her own attack.

Lilac focused on her opponent and brought her paws together. From those paws came a large wave of psychic energy that soon converged onto the opponent. It was powerful, swift, a successful Psychic attack, and that attack combined with Ampharos's were both enough to knock out the sandslash. Mawile soon let go of it and left it tumbling towards the ground.

With their opponent defeated, Lilac was about to see how Light and Fennix were doing, however a large green light appeared out of the corner of her eye before she could. She still turned to look, but she immediately recognized Fennix's Solarbeam. And when her eyes locked on Light's side of the battle, she saw the golem knocked out, Light getting up from having his left arm planted on the ground, and Fennix looking confident at her work. She knew without needing to even ask that Light used Grass Knot to hold the golem down while Fennix used her powerful attack. A painful reminder of the synergy that those two held.

"Pfft, that was it?" Fennix asked, her eyes moving towards Mawile. "I thought you said this cave would be dangerous. That was easy."

However, Mawile and Ampharos still were looking warily around the place. While Fennix was being nonchalant about the battle being done, they still looked like things weren't over. Light noticed their expressions and his gaze went towards Lilac. However, Lilac could only shake her head, as a quick telepathic scan told her nothing. So Light turned back towards Mawile.

"Chief, Mawile, is there something else?"

Mawile gave everyone a deadly look. "Get in the air, now!" she harshly commanded.

Lilac paused for a moment at the suddenness of Mawile's request. However, nobody else hesitated. Light's lightning bolt shaped tail glowed silver once again and he slammed into the ground to send himself into the air. Mawile's large maw on her head glowed silver as well, allowing Ampharos to step on it and be sent up in the air. They both had enough momentum to send themselves high up, to the point where they were inches away from the ceiling of the cave. Fennix, meanwhile, was looking desperately at Lilac. And while Lilac wasn't sure exactly what was going on, she understood the urgency and she quickly reached out to grab Fennix with a Psychic hold.

Unfortunately, the moment's hesitation she had was long enough. Before she could pull Fennix too high into the air, the ground around her violently shook. Lilac lost her footing and fell to the ground, which broke her psychic concentration. Therefore, while Fennix was able to avoid the start of the sudden Earthquake, she still landed on the trembling ground and got hit by the brunt of the attack. It wasn't long after when a loud scream pieced the cavern walls.

"Fennix!" both Light and Lilac yelled at the same time when they heard the scream. Soon after, the ground stopped shaking, allowing Lilac to finally get her bearings. She was hurt from the attack, could feel the scrapes and scratches of every part of her body that had contact with the ground, but she wasn't too worse for wear. Her main worry was how everyone else was.

Light and Ampharos soon landed, Light using another Iron Tail to help lessen the impact while Ampharos used a Dragon Pulse to do the same. Mawile, despite being weak to the sudden attack, looked no worse for wear either. That left only one Pokémon, who Lilac immediately turned to face.

Similar to the injuries that Lilac gained, Fennix also had several cuts and sores all across her paws and stomach. She was standing up by the time Lilac looked at her, but she looked like she was having trouble staying that way. Her knees were shaking, and she had both eyes clenched shut from the pain.

Light turned to her and Lilac was already one step in the process of reaching Fennix, but the ground shook once again before they could get to her. Instead of being another Earthquake, though, two Pokémon came out of the ground. A krokodile and an excadrill. Mawile and Ampharos were both ready to fight, but Light and Lilac were both more concerned with their injured friend.

"…Light, give me your bag and focus on the enemies!" Lilac recommended, her earlier hesitation gone.

Light nodded before throwing his bag at Lilac. While they were doing that, both the excadrill and the krokodile attempted to attack Mawile and Ampharos respectively. The excadrill slashed Mawile with Metal Claws, but Mawile blocked with Iron Head. The krokodile attempted to clamp it's jaws down around Ampharos's neck, but he managed to take a quick step back before hitting the outstretched maw with a Fire Punch. Light ran up to Ampharos's side once he gave his bag to Lilac.

"Chief, focus on the excadrill," Light commanded quickly.

Ampharos nodded and moved towards his right to join Mawile's side. Light rushed straight at the krokodile, who tried to take a bite out of him while he approached. However, Light's run was low enough that the krokodile missed, giving Light the perfect chance to crouch low and hit the krokodile in the stomach with his two glowing white paws. The Brick Break caused the krokodile to keel slightly, so Light slammed his giant red maw with an Iron Tail, sending the krokodile back.

Lilac didn't see much of the fight though, her focus on healing Fennix. Since Fennix was still awake, if in serious pain, Lilac felt around in the bag with her right paw for a small, round Oran Berry. She eventually felt one and quickly pulled it out to give to Fennix.

"Quick, eat this, it'll help," Lilac said as she pressed the berry to Fennix's lips.

"T-thanks, Lilac." Fennix quickly ate the berry. A few seconds after swallowing, Fennix was able to at least open her eyes. Her legs still shook, but she had a determined look on her face, so she was at least able to mostly ignore the pain. She immediately focused on the battle at hand, and Lilac joined her.

Mawile had moved from fighting the excadrill to helping Light against the krokodile, the two standing side-by-side. It tried swiping at Light and Mawile at the same time with its claws, but Light ducked easily past its right claw and Mawile deflected the blow going towards her. Light responded with a Brick Break to its stomach to send it reeling back and Mawile finished it off with her Play Rough attack.

Meanwhile, Ampharos was all on his own against the excadrill, but he seemed no worse for wear. In fact, the excadrill was completely unable to hit him. Slashes with its claws, its attempts at flinging earth at him, all of them were dodged easily by Ampharos with what could almost be described as graceful steps and poses. It almost looked like Ampharos was dancing as he dodged blow after blow. And when the excadrill attempted to use Earthquake, Ampharos went on the offensive with a Fire Punch to stagger it before it could get off such a devastating attack.

"Chief!" Fennix yelled. "Flamethrower, coming your way!"

Fennix opened her maw wide and a large stream of fire came from it. Ampharos easily dodged to his left side with a twirl for style allowing the Flamethrower to engulf the excadrill. Once the fire dissipated, the excadrill was knocked out on the ground.

With both enemy Pokémon defeated, Light turned around and immediately rushed towards Fennix. "Are you okay?!" Light asked.

"Pfft, what do you take me for, Light?" Fennix asked. "Gonna take more than a tiny Earthquake to get me down!"

Lilac paused for a few seconds as she felt guilt welling up inside of her. "Light I…"

However, Light looked at her and shook his head before she could finish that statement. "No, it's my fault. I didn't even think of the fact that you need to concentrate to use Psychic, and that'd be hard during an Earthquake. I should've came up with another strategy."

"We can save this circle of self-doubt for later," Mawile interjected. Everyone's eyes went towards her. "It seems the Pokémon here are extra sensitive to the vibrations made from combat. If we stay in this spot for too long, a horde of enemies will be upon us."

Lilac made a quick telepathic sense of their surroundings. "Mawile's right. I can already sense a large number of Pokémon approaching from all sides. We need to move, or we'll be surrounded."

"Then let's get moving!" Fennix said. However, as soon as she took one step, she flinched.

"Oran berries ease the pain and help the healing process, but they don't heal wounds instantly," Mawile said upon seeing Fennix's pain.

"Yeah, so what?!" Fennix growled. "We need to move, don't we? I'll…survive." And as if to prove it, Fennix ran a few steps forward so she was ahead of the group. "Come on, you guys, let's go!"

"Mawile, you said it's the vibrations from our battles that are attracting them, right?" Light asked quickly. Mawile nodded, so Light turned to Lilac. "Espurr, can I have my bag back? I got a plan."

Lilac quickly complied, levitating Light's bag over to him and around his shoulder. Light immediately reached inside his bag and grabbed out a small seed. Holding it firm in his left paw, Light looked in the direction they came from. There, he chucked the Blast Seed as hard as he possibly could. It went beyond their sight, but they did still hear the explosion that came from it. Lilac could also sense the shift in their enemies.

"There, if we're careful we should be able to avoid everyone now and still move slowly," Light said. He turned around to follow Fennix. "Let's go."

"This will only be a temporary measure, but your plan should grant us a small reprieve," Mawile mused.

So, with the enemies distracted, everyone moved slowly into the nearest branching path of the cave they could find. Light and Fennix took charge, so everyone could go the same speed Fennix was, with Ampharos right behind them, and Mawile and Lilac leading the back. Lilac still felt slightly guilty at what happened earlier, and going so slowly because of it didn't help either. However, while they were walking, Mawile tapped on her shoulder.

"Don't dwell on a single mistake for longer than it takes to learn from it. Nobody blames you."

Lilac looked over to Mawile for some sort of an explanation, but before she could get one, Mawile had moved ahead to join Ampharos's side in the group. Despite what Mawile suggested, though, after analyzing the battle in her head, Lilac knew that she was the weak link. Even beyond being unable to do her part in Light's plan, both him and Fennix along with Ampharos and Mawile had good synergy in the battle. But Lilac didn't. And that fact left a bitter taste in her mouth as they continued through the dungeon.

* * *

 **AN:** While large fight scenes with many players can be really annoying to pull off, one good thing they do is they show how the various characters work together and around each other. These early on fights aren't that important, obviously they're going to make it through and none of these wild Pokemon are going to become major players in the plot. So what's more important is to define something within the fight, something thematic to the overall story, and work through those definitions further on in the story.

Beta read by TheGoldCrow


	4. Entering the Dark

Thanks to Light's plan, traversing the rest of the dungeon was rather easily. Mawile and Ampharos had their own Blast Seeds they could use, so when they occasionally reached a branching path, they'd throw a Blast Seed down one path and then walk the other, allowing the rest of their trip to be mostly free of enemies. It was still a decently lengthy walk through the cave, but it was relatively harmless. And eventually, they saw a light signaling the end of the cavern.

However, before they could exit, Mawile stood in front of Fennix, stopping her in her tracks.

"Hey, what's the big idea?!" Fennix growled.

"We should be far away from our opponents," Mawile answered, her words calm. "It would be best to get your wounds covered before we return back to the desert. Many pathogens exist in the sands, and if you walk through there with open wounds, you may get sick."

"Thanks, Amaranth," Fennix groaned.

"Sorry Fennix, but she's right," Light said, his paw already reaching down into his bag. "Just give me a second and I'll wrap some gauze around your paws."

"Fine."

So Light quickly wrapped the gauze around Fennix's four paws to help protect them. Fennix looked annoyed and flinched occasionally in pain, but she let Light do what he needed to do. Once Light was done, he took a step back and watched Fennix patter around the floor a little.

"Ugg…I hate the feeling of cloth on my paws," Fennix groaned.

"I don't know, it probably feels better than hard stone or the hot sand getting stuck in your paws," Light mentioned.

Fennix rolled her eyes. "Hot doesn't bother a Fire-type, remember. Heck, hot sand baths are what's behind the Fire rooms in hot springs. Traversing the desert is like going to a sauna for me."

Light gave a half smirk. "Glad at least one of us is enjoying this. Anyways, shall we be off?"

Mawile nodded. "It's best we get out of this cave before more Wilds swarm us."

So the crew all walked out of the cavern and when they did they noticed that the sun was nearing the western horizon. They kept walking westward, towards the sun

As they walked, Light had a question, but he hesitated for a moment before asking it. "…Since you two have been in the tomb, do you know why so many Pokémon might've disappeared?"

"We have a guess based on how far we've explored," Ampharos answered. "We'll show you once we get that there."

With that, everyone walked mostly silently until they reached the ruins. Fennix hummed a few tunes on the way there, but there were no other conversations as they walked due to the heat. Eventually, a small gray structure appeared on the horizon. Seeing that, the crew started running to finally reach their destination.

Approaching the structure, Light noticed that it was a light gray and was shaped like a triangle on top of a square. A lot was buried under the sand, but the top of the entrance and the roof of the structure were still uncovered. On the top of the entrance, there were a number of symbols that Light couldn't read but could at least recognize. And his thoughts were confirmed when Fennix looked up and immediately read what it said.

"The Tomb of Light." Fennix looked at everyone excitedly. "Yep, we're here!"

Light looked down into the tomb but couldn't really see much beyond the entrance. It was clear by both the decline in the sand beyond the entrance and how buried the place was that it seemed to go deep in the earth, but the darkness told him little about how deep. Light could almost feel a chill creep out from the tomb but knew that it was just the lack of heat from a desert night. Still, his nerves were betraying him, making him hesitant to climb down into the dark.

"Is there any light whatsoever down there?" Light asked. He was already reaching into his bag to grab some wands for Fennix to ignite, just in case.

"As far as we've explored, no," Mawile answered. "Save your wands, Light, they won't help you here."

Light took his paw back out of his bag and turned around to look at the archeologist to listen to her explanation.

"Contrary to its name, the tomb is pitch black. Once we reach the main chamber, torches won't help either as it's too large for any walls to be illuminated. However, it seems that it has not become a Mystery Dungeon yet. Therefore, it remains straightforward and without enemies aside from potential looters whom we have not run into yet. We've made careful strides through this tomb on our own, mentally mapping each room. If we stay close, have Lilac keep a mental eye out, and have Fennix merely blow a small ember occasionally in case someone starts walking off, we can save your wands for their intended use."

"If you say so, Mawile." Light turned back towards the tomb, his nervousness not lessened even by that chat. Still, he took a deep breath and began descending down in thedarkness. He heard the sound of footprints behind him echoing in the hallow tomb.

As they descended lower and lower, Light's arms grasped around himself and he began shivering. He was very aware of the desert nights being this cold, but the sun wasn't completely down yet outside. Yet it almost felt like all heat disappeared from the area.

"Don't be fooled," Mawile eventually said, as if she was reading Light's mind. "The cold you feel right now is due to the contrast between the desert heat and the cool of the tomb. We believe it is just slightly cooler than room temperature here. The tomb seems to keep itself as closed off from the outside world as much as possible. Most likely intentional to keep whatever they hold in here safe from the elements of the outside."

Lilac stepped forward a bit. "Alright Mawile, lead the way. I've got a psychic trace on everybody, so we shouldn't get lost."

So Mawile stepped forward, Ampharos right next to her. Light heard their footsteps and followed behind both of them as best as he could. He kept his ears up and open as best as possible, listening to make sure that he was going the right direction and trying to make sure that Lilac and Fennix were following behind him. He knew Lilac was keeping an eye on everything as well, but Light wanted to do his part too.

As such, due to the concentration, the crew walked through the darkness in silence. Luckily, even after a few minutes of walking, the five of them were able to stay in a tight formation. Still, Light's muscles were tense as they kept going, knowing they were getting closer and closer to the point where other Pokémon would have disappeared. At any point in time, one of them could walk off on their own, never to be seen again…

"Is everyone doing alright?" Light eventually asked.

"We're all still here," Lilac announced. "I've been keeping a careful eye on everything. We're all still together and there's been no sign of any other Pokémon arou…"

Lilac's voice suddenly cut out. What's more, Light heard one pair of footsteps suddenly stop behind him. His heart nearly stopped and Light immediately turned around in the dark.

"Fennix, we need some fire, now!" Light commanded.

Fennix complied immediately by blowing a small flame from her mouth. The light that illuminated from it didn't reveal much, the world around them was still as dark as it was before, but they were at least able to see each other. So Light focused on Lilac.

She was looking to her right with a strange look on her face. Light glanced in the same direction she was looking, but he noticed nothing from the distance Fennix's flame allowed him to see. Light couldn't figure out what she was thinking about, but the fact that she stopped to look in that direction worried him.

"Espurr?" Light asked. He could feel a sinking feeling in his chest. The fact that she hadn't noticed, hadn't reacted to anything aside from whatever she had her focus on worried him greatly. If it was an enemy, she would have warned them by now. But she instead just looked with a strange gaze. "Espurr?"

"Lilac!" Light yelled this time.

Luckily, this time he actually got her attention. "Sorry, Light. I heard you."

"What happened?"

Lilac glanced back in the same direction she was looking in earlier. "I…thought I sensed something. For a moment, I telepathically sensed some sort of Pokémon to our left. But the moment I sensed them, the sensation disappeared."

"Did they notice you and just block you or something?" Fennix asked.

Lilac shook her head. "That's not what happened. Other Pokémon can detect me, if they're perceptive enough, and can block my telepathy, sure. It's not a common ability, but it's very possible. Thing is, even if a Pokémon can sense my telepathy and block me, I still know they're there. I wouldn't be able to read their mind, but I know they exist and where they are. But to disappear completely is impossible. Unless you're a Dark-type or a Steel-type from a distance, I should still be able to sense you."

"So then what do you think happened?" Light asked.

Lilac looked to the floor for a second. "That's…a good question. I suppose I could've imagined it. Otherwise, whatever I sensed could have been farther away than I thought and just went outside of my range." Lilac eventually shook her head and smiled. "But I suppose it doesn't matter. After all, if it is something, I sensed it once and I can sense it again. So even if it turns out to be dangerous, it can't really do much to us."

Light sighed. "If you say so. Just…warn us next time if something's off."

Light glanced back and noticed that Mawile and Ampharos were having a silent conversation with each other, Mawile half-glancing at Lilac while doing so. Light wondered what exactly they were thinking, but he wasn't able to gleam anything from their faces. And eventually, they fully turned to glance at the rest of the crew.

"Very well," Mawile said. "If you're certain it was nothing, then we should move on. We're close to our destination, anyways."

Ampharos stepped forward and gave the crew his usual trademark pose. "Let's give it one more push, crew!"

"Sweet!" Fennix cheered.

She put out her fire, shrouding everyone in darkness yet again, before they all continued their way. They didn't walk for long, though, before they saw a strange glowing blue light ahead of them. It wasn't enough to allow Light to see anything, but the glow itself had an otherworldly feel to it.

"What's…that?" Lilac asked.

"You'll see soon enough, my friend," Ampharos said with some mysticism in his voice.

So, with the pale blue light as their guild, the crew walked further on through the ruins, the light glowing brighter as they got closer. It wasn't that much longer until they finally reached the source of the light, a tablet the size of Mawile with glowing blue letters on it. The letters were so bright, that everybody was easily able to see each other.

"What in the world is that?" Light breathlessly asked.

"How is that possible?" Lilac asked. "How can letters possibly glow like that?"

"Luminous stone," Mawile answered. "It's a stone that's found fairly deep underground. It was often mistaken for gemstones in ancient times. It's mostly ignored as a material, since it's very hard to mold and shape into the way one would want to. To craft a tablet this large and use Luminous Stone as the very fabric of the letters takes time and dedication beyond what most Pokémon are willing to put up with."

"It's written in the ancient language, too," Fennix mused.

Light didn't notice it at first, but Fennix was slowly walking forward to the tablet, her eyes glued onto it.

Mawile nodded. "Indeed. And, as you'll see when you read it, this is where our snag came from."

Fennix nodded and began reading off the tablet. "'I, Puriah, an Oracle of the Golden Continent, dedicate this tomb to my friend and of my main allies in the fight against Dark Matter so long ago. Light, you were taken from your old life, your old world, and brought here to help us with our problems. Yet you gave it your all to help us fix this world up. Even if you couldn't fight as well as the rest of us, you helped in your own ways. Rest assured that your contribution will never be forgotten.'"

"'I had hoped, when you and Mew disappeared a few months back, that you were merely returning home. You lost so much, I hoped your life wasn't one of the thing you would lose. It was saddening to learn otherwise. Rest assured that I will keep you and the treasure that you own safe from looters and bandits.'"

"'To you, bandit or looter who intends on desecrating my friend's tomb, I must warn you right now that I will not tolerate it. Leave now and you may still keep your life. But if you design to keep with your path, you will find yourself lost for an eternity. I will protect my friend's tomb at all costs.'"

"'But if you are one of my friends, or descended from my friends, then speak our names, the names of the original six who banded together to fight against Dark Matter, and you will be able to visit Light. I'm sure he'd be grateful for the company and would be glad to be remembered.'"

Fennix paused for a moment before saying, "That's all it says."

Once again, all eyes went onto Light. Only this time, he didn't crack any jokes. In fact, he mostly looked at the tablet in horror. And in his chest, he felt a pit that sunk further and further down.

"If it's means anything to you, Light, it is unlikely that you are not who you think you are," Ampharos said comfortingly. "I'm sure most of us here believe that you are indeed the Light from the ancient past."

Fennix stomped her paw. "Of course he is!"

Light took a deep breath to calm his nerves before he spoke again. "That's…not really what I'm worried about. I know I'm Light too. I have vague memories of my past with Mew and everyone else. The names of all my past friends sound familiar to me. It's just…" Light's voice trailed off again, the words he wanted to say not coming to his lips.

"The question at this point is not 'is the Light in front of us the real one, but rather 'if the Light in front of us is the real one, then why does Puriah think that he's dead?'" Mawile concluded.

Light nodded his confirmation. "Honestly, just the fact that she assumed I was dead is bad enough, regardless of why. I just…wish I could've let her know that I am alive."

"There's something I personally want to know," Lilac chimed into the conversation. Everyone turned their attention to her. "According to Mr. Carracosta, Wartortle didn't know where Light or Mew were. He didn't know for sure whether they were alive or dead. But if Puriah knew, then why didn't she tell everyone else? If I were in her position, I'd have told everyone I could. Especially made sure all his friends know."

"I suppose the answer to those questions lies ahead," Ampharos said.

"Yeah, but didn't you guys say you hit a snag here?" Fennix asked. "Why? You guys know the names of all our past allies."

"I told you before, we're being very careful here," Mawile answered. "I managed to fully translate the tablet myself and knew that it read 'But if you are one of our friends or a descendent of our friends…' While it may be nothing, we decided to wait for you after seeing that. It's unlikely that means anything, but better safe than sorry."

"Makes sense," Fennix said. "Well, you've got the reincarnation of Mew here now, so let's do this!"

Fennix stepped forward, determination on her face, and spoke to the tablet. "Mew, Light, Florence, Puriah, Clover, Wartortle!"

As Fennix spoke, the tablet in front of them glowed brighter and brighter with its ominous blue light. When she was finally done, the tablet was so bright that it blinded everyone, especially due to how dark it was previously. It took nearly a minute before the glare disappeared from everyone's eyes. When they did, they noticed a change in the room immediately.

On the ceilings was uncountable dots of small dots of pale lights in various formations appeared, as if they were suddenly outside in the middle of the night. There were also star-like dots on the walls, but those stars formed constellations that looked like four different Pokémon. From the farthest left to the right there was a pikachu, a braixen, a shaymin, and a wartortle. Under those Pokémon were each door-shaped lights. Finally, on the floor there was a path of light that split off into four, leading to the four constellations.

"Wow…" Lilac kept looking around the area. "This place looks amazing now."

Mawile had her mouth and eyes wide as she looked around. "So much Luminous Stone crafted into the walls and floors. This would have taken so much time to create. All for one Pokémon."

"But why the four areas?" Fennix asked.

Mawile broke out of her stupor to answer Fennix's question. "We likely have some trials to go through before we reach there. I can't imagine Puriah would consider merely speaking all your names to be enough protection. Be ready, everybody."

Light stepped forward on the path, trying his best to hide his doubts and stay determined. "Let's go in order and start with Florence, then."

Ampharos nodded. "Why my dear Light, that sound like a great idea." Ampharos walked forward as well and posed. "Let us go then, crew."

With that, the five Pokémon all walked their way across the farthest left path towards the pikachu consolation. However, unbeknownst to Light at first, Lilac paused for a moment to look back towards the entrance with the same strange look she had before. But this time, she rejoined the crew much faster, no words at what she sensed coming from her mouth.

* * *

 **AN:** Not much to say here as this is basically a transition chapter. But we've finally entered the meat of the story. And even didn't take me like eight chapters to do so! New record!

I suppose, for those curious as to my response to the hacks (and for those who don't know, to make a long story short, a javascript is being spread around and will change your profile to one of a couple of things if you check out infected profiles while logged into your own), I'll continue updating the Tomb of Light on here for the foreseeable future. However, if/when has something worse happen to it, I might leave the site. If I do, and I will give a warning in the AN of whatever I'm writing, you can still find me either on DeviantArt or A03 under the same name. I probably won't do so unless something major happens; I'll just interact around here a bit less, but that's just in case something that bad happens.

Beta read by TheGoldCrow


	5. A Blast from the Past

As they were unfortunately starting to become familiar with, once they entered the bright light below the pikachu constellation, the crew were walking blind. Luckily for them, the pathway was narrow for the most part, Ampharos and Mawile kept their paws on the walls just to make sure there weren't any diverging paths. Lilac was also telepathically checking the place just in case.

They walked like that for a few seconds before Ampharos announced, "It seems the path gets wider from here."

"Is that a good thing or bad thing?" Fennix groaned. "My eyes are starting to burn."

"That's why I recommended you close them." Lilac pointed out. "In any case, I can't imagine we'll be like this for long. It's hard to take a trial you can't even see."

"I believe I hear something as well," Mawile said. "We should find something soon."

As Mawile suggested, they soon found themselves in a place where the light wasn't overbearingly shining into their eyes. It took a few seconds for their eyes to adjust, but while they did so Light relied on his other senses. He could strangely enough smell salt water and the sense of many fruits. There was also strangely the consistent sound of chatter. Once Light's eyes adjusted, he was able to see why.

For some reason, Light was standing on a wooden dock in the middle of some sort of port town that was lightly covered in fog. Behind him was a vast sea. And in front of him were several tents and several wooden stalls in front of those tents were Pokémon were selling their wares. Most of the stalls seemed to be selling fruit, likely gotten from the many large trees in the town but one vendor to the left sold jewelry and one vendor was selling Wonder Orbs. There were also likely other stalls Light just couldn't see from his vantage point. From the amount of Pokémon that were walking between stalls, it seemed to be a popular market and it was also clear that Pokémon lived in the town by four children who were wrestling on the street. The place almost reminded the pikachu of Lively Town if the buildings weren't all just tents. But there was just one thing that didn't make any sense.

"Weren't we in a tomb?" Fennix asked for Light. "Where are we now?"

"We should also be deep underground," Mawile pointed out. "But instead we're at sea level in some sort of port. And one I'm personally unfamiliar with, as well."

"I don't recognize it either, and it's our job to go around the world," Fennix pointed out. "So, I have no idea where we are."

As they conversed, Light gave the area another glance through. There was a sense of familiarity in what he saw, but he wasn't entirely sure why. It was on the tip of his tongue, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out exactly why the place he looked was familiar. Still, he told the rest of the crew his suspicions anyways.

"So, this place looks familiar to you," Ampharos mused. "Interesting."

"Heeey, are you five lost?" a feminine voice called out to them. The five Pokémon all looked to see an elderly purugly walking across the dock towards them. "You five never been to Kalah Port before?"

"K-k-kalah port?" Fennix repeated. Even Mawile and Ampharos were shocked by the information.

But for Light, those words came with a sudden realization as to exactly why he recognized the area. And he looked around again just to be sure. While he wasn't sure how or why, Light was in Kalah Port, the same one he visited with Mew thousands of years ago.

"Did the five of you just get off Lapras without knowing where you were?" the purugly asked.

"Well, it is rather foggy out, "Light mumbled.

"Foggy?" the purugly laughed. "Did you hit your head or something? You wouldn't be coming here if it was foggy. Nor would we all be out here like this. Why, the day's actually really beautiful!"

"It is?!" Fennix blurted out from shock.

" _Guys, I don't think we're getting anywhere with this line of thinking,"_ Lilac telepathically mentioned. " _We should probably change the subject. We'll talk about it later."_

Light stepped forward and shook his head. "Sorry ma'am. Our...umm...vision isn't the best in the world, and we're new to the area. So, we weren't sure we made it to the right place."

Everyone gave Light various questioning glances, but they let him go nevertheless.

"Riight." Despite the skepticism, she still tried to smile. "So, what are you here for? The market?" However, her eyes eventually focused on Lilac and Fennix. "Or are you guys bringing your Psychic-type friends to the oracles for training?"

"The latter," Light answered without thinking. "In fact, my fennekin friend here is good friends with Puriah."

"Well isn't that nice? Well, you guys'll find the oracles to the northeast in the mountain range above. Be careful, though. A few dungeons have appeared around those mountains, and these are dangerous times."

"It'll be okay, ma'am," Ampharos said. "For I, the Dashing Wanderer, will ensure these children's safety!"

"If you…say so." The purugly turned around to move on with her day, but Lilac stepped forward and spoke to stop her.

"Thank you for your help, old lady," Lilac said with a wide smile on her face. "I'm glad we met a kind old lady like you to help us!"

The purugly's brow furled and she frowned. "Old?! I'll have you know that I still have many years ahead of me!" She then turned around and walked off with a huff. "Kids these days. You help them, and they call you old."

"Espurr, why did you do that?" Fennix growled. "She was helping us, and you insulted her."

"I wanted to be sure about something," Lilac responded.

"Let's head back behind the stall," Mawile suggested, tilting her head towards an empty stall to their right, a few rows down. "I believe we have a lot to unpack and talk about."

Light nodded and chuckled. "And we just got here."

So, everyone walked as casually as they could to the place Mawile suggested they go. There were no Pokémon there, and the size of the stall along with the noise coming from the main square blocked out any possible eavesdroppers, so they were each able to sit down and talk in peace. So, the crew all sat down and Mawile addressed them all first.

"Light, are we really in Kalah Port in the past?"

Light took a quick glance to the main square on the other side of the stall, just to make sure he wasn't fooling himself, before turning back to the group and nodding. "Yes. Everything around here feels familiar. The stalls, the Pokémon all walking around buying and selling, the atmosphere. Even the layout. While I can't recognize anybody here, I'm sure of it. This is Kalah Port back when it was alive."

"So, did we travel back in time or something?" Fennix asked.

Mawile herself glanced in the direction of the main market before continuing. However, Light wasn't entirely sure why she did, as in her position the large wall completely blocked her vision.

"That leads to my second question. You all could understand what was being said, correct?"

"Uhh…yeah," Fennix responded in an 'isn't it obvious' tone. "Why wouldn't we?"

"You of all Pokémon should know exactly why we wouldn't," Mawile answered. "If we did somehow travel back to ancient times, none of us except for maybe you should be able to understand what anybody is saying."

Fennix's eyes widened with realization. "The ancient language!"

Mawile nodded gravely. "Exactly. If we somehow truly traveled back, then that purugly would essentially be speaking gibberish to us. You might be able to translate, and I'd maybe be able to pick up a word or two, but we'd otherwise have a language barrier between us. However, that language barrier is gone."

Light thought about things for a moment. "Do you think we could've traveled sometime later? Like, hundreds of years after Dark Matter was destroyed or something? And that's why we're able to understand everything."

Mawile shook her head, sinking the theory immediately. "While the language used immediately before the time of the Great Drought was closer to the language we use today, it's still not exact, and we'd still have a hard time understanding it. Not only that, but you yourself confirmed that we are back around the time Dark Matter first appeared in this world."

Light rubbed the back of his head and he felt his cheeks heat up. "I…did?"

"When you mentioned that Fennix was friends with Puriah, the purugly didn't find it strange at all," Lilac pointed out. "If we were in a time where Puriah was long gone, she would have probably thought you were suspicious when you said that. So that means an oracle named Puriah is someone that she's familiar with."

Light nervously chuckled. "Oh. I…wasn't even thinking when I said that."

"There's also the matter of the difference in viewpoint. You all see this fog too, do you not? At least you indicated that you did, Light."

"That's what I see," Lilac chimed in.

Fennix waved her paw. "Me too!"

Light nodded. "Looks like we all do. But that purugly said it was a clear day. Unless Kalah port considers _this_ to be a clear day, something is off with that one. Either she's seeing things, or we are."

"So then…what's going on?" Fennix asked.

"Little Espurr?" Ampharos asked. "I believe this is where you tell us what you were doing."

Lilac nodded. "Thanks, Chief." Lilac stood up before she continued. "Since we got here, I've been telepathically scanning around the place. And there's nobody here."

"What?!" Fennix looked in the direction of the main market. "But what about all those Pokémon over there? We can hear them and talk to them."

"I can only guess on that, but I'm confident on this point." Lilac looked determined as she spoke. "I've been constantly scanning to make sure I'm not wrong, and the only minds I can sense around here are ours. And just in case they're all blocking my telepathy, which is more than likely impossible as it is, I decided to try and make the purugly angry. If a Pokémon is so easily angered by just mentioning their age, then they're not blocking you. Which means that purugly doesn't exist."

"Or more specifically, it's some sort of illusion," Mawile concluded.

Lilac nodded. "It's a powerful illusion to be sure. All of our normal senses are fooled. But my telepathy senses other minds. And, as far as I know, you can't really make me sense minds that aren't even there."

"So, we haven't traveled back in time, but instead we're in an illusion that makes us think we've traveled back in time," Light summarized.

"But why?" Fennix asked. "Aren't we supposed to be taking some sort of trial, or something?"

"Would going to where Puriah is be our trial?" Light asked. "I suggested that just for conversation, but thinking about it, that might be where we need to go."

"The area she's talking about is where the Hill of the Ancients is now," Mawile said. "That's a day-and-a-half walk from here. I'm going to guess that's unlikely."

"Then what…?" Fennix began, however her question was quickly interrupted.

"Everybody, run!"

The crew all looked out from their hiding spot behind the stalls to see a monferno running into the town, a panicked hurried look on his face. Before he could say or do anything else, though, a sphere of dark energy slammed into the back of his head. The dark energy surrounded him, turning his color from orange to a dull gray. Once the energy dissipated, the monferno was motionless stone.

"It…it can't be!" Fennix yelled.

Light felt his body quiver and quake at the sight and his pulse rapidly increased. The Pokémon in the market, seeing that, all ran off in whatever way they could in a mass of panicked energy. Some tramped over each other, and those Pokémon that were tramped and left on the ground were soon also hit by the dark energy and became stone as well. It was every Pokémon for themselves, some running off into the horizon while others chose to stay and hide.

Light turned his attention specifically towards whoever was causing the event, his breath caught in his throat and his heart pumping at the possibility of who it could be. For his sake, though, the Pokémon that were turning the Pokémon in the market to stone were not the ones he was expecting. It was instead three Pokémon, a mienshao, an emolga, and a cubone. The mienshao stood in the middle and was the clear leader of the group.

"Well, would you look at that," the mienshao snickered. "My mere presence is turning all these Pokémon into cyndaquil. I never knew I could have such an effect on them."

"That creep," Fennix growled. Light could tell by how tense she was that she was ready to pounce on those three Pokémon.

However, Mawile stood in front of her, blocking her before she could rush out after those Pokémon. "Be careful. Illusion or not, we have no idea what will happen if you get turned to stone here."

"For what it's worth, I can't imagine it'd be able to do anything," Lilac mused. "But that might cause us to fail our trial. Besides, these Pokémon are all illusions of the past anyways. Nothing we do here matters."

Fennix growled again, but she sat down. "I don't like not doing anything."

Light nodded and spoke in a comforting voice. "I don't either, but there are a lot of things we don't know right now. And one hit from their dark energy attack is all it takes."

"Pfft, all these spineless Pokémon," the mienshao scoffed. She was walking through the stalls, grabbing what she pleased. "At least they left us some treats. But look at how pathetic they are. Running at the first sight of us. Not that it'll matter in the end. This world belongs to us now, and there's not a thing anyone can do to stop it."

However, while she was perusing some jewelry, a young poochyena suddenly ran out from behind the stall Light was hiding from and clamped its jaws on the left arm of the mienshao. The mienshao let out a pained scream before glaring at the Pokémon who attached itself to her. She quickly waved her arm around and flung the poochyena off her and to a point where Light couldn't see. But what he could see was the mienshao throw a dark sphere of energy in the direction she tossed the poochyena in, and Light didn't need to see what happened to know what happened.

"Stupid kid," the mienshao growled. "What did you think would happen when you faced me? And oh...what is this?"

Light heard some sort of whimpering coming from behind the stalls, causing his blood to boil. The mienshao seemed to also hear that and soon walked to a point where the wall of the stall was blocking her from their view. Without saying anything, Light and Mawile went to both sides of the stall, getting ready in case the mienshao or her crew decided to check behind the wall that blocked them. There, they waited with baited breath while Light listened in on what was happening.

"B-big sis," a small female voice cried softly.

"So, I assume that imbecilic ingrate was your family?" the mienshao growled.

"M-miss…please don't hurt me," the previous young voice pleaded. "Please bring big sis back."

"Sorry, I can't do that. But I can send you to her. Oh, and don't worry, it won't hurt. At least the turning to stone part. I can't say much about your trip to the Voidlands, though."

"Ma'am, she's just a kid," one of her cohorts interrupted. "She's no threat to our plans, she's not even trying to stop us, nor can she stop us here. So why don't we just let her go?"

"Do you think we're doing this because any of these Pokémon are a threat?" The mienshao loudly laughed, as if the thought brought her a lot of merriment. "Nobody in this world, not even the Legendary Pokémon, are a threat to us anymore. We're doing this because we can! This world belongs to us now!"

"At least until it's destroyed," Mawile whispered. "I suppose Dark Matter never mentioned that part of the deal."

Light soon saw the young girl, a poochyena just like the other one that was turned to stone, enter his field of vision as she backed away from the three Pokémon, her tear-filled eyes horrified. "M-mommy! D-daddy! H-help!"

Light acted without even thinking. He rushed out of his hiding spot and towards the young girl. He grabbed onto her and pushed her out of the way, just in time to avoid the dark energy attack that would have turned her into stone. With her pushed away, Light turned around to face his three opponents, arms wide as he blocked them from the young girl.

"Get out of here now, and go find your parents," Light commanded. "I'll hold them off!"

"Th-thanks, mister."

The poochyena ran off and the three Pokémon all glared at Light. "Looks like we got another hero here," the mienshao scoffed. "So, what now, kid? What are you going to do? Aside from turn out like that other poochyena."

 _Isn't that a good question?_ Light asked himself. _Man, I really should have thought this through a bit more._ _Guess I get to see just how much my speed is worth._ But he kept those doubts off his face and, with the poochyena gone, Light got on four paws, ready to run.

The mienshao and her two cohorts all prepared their own individual dark spheres of energy, and Light tensed his muscles to react when they launched it. However, before they were able to do anything, the mienshao was engulfed by a Flamethrower from her left before a Psychic finished her off. The cubone and emolga both backed away from the flames, but they themselves weren't off the hook. The cubone was suddenly hit by an Iron Head from behind, sending his own head slamming into the ground while the emolga was hit by a Thunderpunch before being engulfed by a point-blank Dragon Pulse. The surprise attack was enough to knock the three Dark Matter minions out.

Light stood up and breathed a sigh of relief as his friends all joined him. "Thanks, you guys."

"No problem," Lilac shrugged. "These guys were pretty weak."

"That was a foolish move, Light," Mawile reprimanded.

Light sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah…I know. I just…acted. I didn't even think of it."

Lilac just shrugged and smiled a bit. "Same old Light. At least you didn't get hurt."

Mawile took a deep breath and nodded. "That's true. But don't forget the danger of this area. Pokémon have vanished without a trace here, and I can't help but feel this…" Mawile extended her arms to show all the stone statues that were in the area, "might be connected. I could be entirely wrong, as this requires knowledge not a lot of Pokémon have in the first place, but I can't help wondering."

Light looked over the statues as well, specifically the poochyena statue. Her family had since come back, the poochyena from before along with her two mightyena parents. The two mightyena were looking sorrowfully over the statue while the young poochyena girl placed her snout on the statue, wailing at the sight of her sister. Light felt himself shiver and shake at the sight of it. He also noticed that both Lilac and Fennix were also uncomfortable seeing the statues around. Light couldn't entirely blame them, as the sight around them brought back unfortunate memories of a time they all hoped would be long gone.

"It's pointless to grieve about it," Mawile reminded the three children. "Everything we see here are illusions. Don't let yourselves be too taken in by it that you forget why we are here."

Lilac nodded, but she still couldn't take off the sorrowful gaze or the tears forming in her eyes. "Y-yeah, you're right. Nothing we're seeing here is real."

"Small comfort," Fennix stomped. "How can you guys be so heartless! That little girl...just lost a sister. S-she looks to be our age, too."

Light was of both minds and sentiments. He knew Mawile was right, in that they were in an illusionary word and the Pokémon there didn't matter. But the empathetic part of his heart still cried out for them, illusions or otherwise.

"Well, aren't you five brave."

In his stupor, Light didn't even notice the purugly from before approaching them once again until she spoke. She had with her three other Pokémon who quickly went to capture the mienshao, cubone, and emolga while they were still unconscious. The purugly herself looked around the area with the same sort of apprehension that the kids of the group gave.

"After seeing this gruesome sight, I wouldn't blame you for running. Still, I have to hand it to you kid, you were really brave when protecting that little kid."

"Uhh…thanks, ma'am." Light couldn't find it in his heart to have any joy at the complement, considering the circumstances. "Oh, and sorry for what my friend said earlier. She was just…"

The purugly just shrugged. "Never you mind that. You guys have more than earned your keep. You guys are going to see the oracles, right? Bet it's because of this mess, huh?" Before giving anyone a chance to confirm or deny what she, she spoke again. "I'll send them a letter from Pelliper telling them that you're coming. Good luck out there. For all our sakes."

Light nodded. "We'll do what we can, ma'am."

The purugly walked off into the distance, so Light focused back on his allies to see what they were doing. When he did, he noticed that Ampharos and Mawile were focused on a specific spot at the exist of the market. Lilac and Fennix also noticed that those two were staring at something, so they walked over to check it out. Light joined them and saw that there was a bright light pouring out from between two stalls at the far end of the market.

"What in the world…is that?" Fennix asked.

"Considering everything else so far, I'm guessing it's where we need to go," Light mentioned.

Mawile nodded. "Hmm…I wonder." She took another glance back at the stone statues. "It seems as if this illusion has taken us back to the first time Dark Matter attacked this world. And when Light and Mew first ventured off. If that's true, then perhaps the trials that Puriah is having us go through is to act as Light himself did back during that time."

"So, what you're saying is that, by protecting that poochyena, we solved the first trial?" Lilac asked.

"More than likely. In which case, I suppose I should retract my earlier comment. You acted just as you should, Light."

"I wish I could feel glad about it," Light stated in an emotionless voice.

Mawile placed her paw onto his shoulder and looked him directly in the eye. "Light, understand that I don't mean to sound heartless when I tell you that you shouldn't grieve. History is filled with many events like this, some even worse. But we have the perspective of our future time. We know that, for example, Mew and your past self will eventually defeat Dark Matter and, if it's anything like what happened in our time, the Pokémon who turned to stone eventually reverted to normal. Keep that in mind and don't lose yourself to sorrow from mere illusions."

Light looked towards the floor. "...I know but...I'll try."

"Anyways, crew..." Ampharos announced, turning everyone's attention towards him. "Great work on clearing the first trial, everyone! Though we may have seen things we didn't like, we can take heart in knowing that everything turns out alright in the end. Let's keep this momentum up!"

With that, Ampharos, Mawile, and Fennix all walked towards the light. Light, however, found himself hesitating. He couldn't help but look back at the marketplace with a melancholy gaze, seeing the once lively market empty and desolate.

"Light, are you okay?" Lilac eventually asked.

"I…guess," Light answered, still not taking his gaze away from that spot.

"Your still not convinced, are you?" Lilac asked.

Light shook his head and finally turned to his right to face Lilac. "Sort of, sort of not. I know what Mawile said is true. I know that these are only illusions. I know that everything turns out alright for them, eventually. But...seeing that young girl now...seeing her grieving over her sister, I can't help but hate it. I hate that there's nothing I can do for her, even if it's pointless."

Lilac looked away for a moment. "I mean...back when this happened, you were already doing that. And you did save her. Even if she would have found her sister, neither would have lasted long in the Voidlands, if what all you guys told me about it is true. You gave her a chance to live and those two mightyena didn't lose both their children. Logically speaking, you did all that you could."

Despite still not feeling any better, Light gave his friend a soft smile. "Yeah, I get it. I just gotta keep reminding myself that things get better."

"Come on, you two!" Fennix called from within the light.

Light nodded in her direction. "We're coming!" He turned his attention back to Lilac once again. "Let's catch up with everyone else. We don't want to be left behind, do we?"

Light and Lilac both walked off to join the rest of the crew.

* * *

 **AN:** What, did you think that port everyone met at in Chapter 2 was just a one off thing? Nope, I fully planned for it to be the position of the first trial. Here, we get to see Kalah Port in it's full glory. And...it still sucks over there. After all, these trials seem to be taking our protagonists back to the time of Dark Matter's first assault on the world. You can imagine how fun that will be, all things considering. But next chapter, we'll see how exactly all this is possible.

Fun fact, before I go. Kalah Port is named after the Kalahari Desert in South Africa, just like how Sahra town is most likely named after the Sahara Desert. I mostly did it for the theme naming.

Beta read by TheGoldCrow


	6. First True Bond

The glare from the light this time dissipated much quicker and they soon found themselves in a strange white room. Within the center of the room was two things, a small pedestal holding what appeared to be a black card with golden markings depicting the sun, and another tablet sticking out of the ground with blue text on it. Fennix's eyes immediately went to the tablet while Mawile herself focused on the card on the pedestal. Since Light figured Fennix would be busy translating for a few seconds, and since Mawile had a strong look of realization on her face, Light joined her.

"That explains a lot," Mawile mumbled softly. "Though I would have never expected to see one here from this era."

Ampharos nodded. "Though it certainly does explain quite a lot. We might have to send a message to those two to see if they can shed some light."

Light and Lilac both gave each other confused glances. "Mind…explaining what you're talking about to us?" Light asked for the both of them.

Mawile faced them. "Ah, sorry. I suppose you two would be unaware." Mawile waved over towards the card. "The item there on the pedestal is one that we assumed was only recently discovered. It's called an Entercard. And the fact that it is here leads to a lot more questions."

Light tilted his head. "I don't…understand."

"I'll save the explanation for later, then, as I want to be sure of something first." Mawile turned to face Fennix. "I assume you have the tablet translated?"

"Pfft, who do you think I am?" Fennix scoffed.

"Well, last I checked, you're Fennix," Light snarked. "Unless you became someone else while I wasn't looking. Can't imagine many other fennekin that can read the ancient language, though."

Fennix glared at him. "And who asked you?"

Light chuckled. "Anyways, what does it say?"

Fennix looked back at the tablet. "Alright, just give me a sec."

Fennix took a deep breath and began reading the tome.

"To even speak of humans in my tribe was a taboo. They were once common in the tribe, we know that much. In fact, the humans of our tribe were said to have the power to see visions relating to an object just by touching it. But they're gone now, and whenever they were spoken of, it was in contempt. Those who were older never told us why. That's just the way things were, as far as they were concerned. So when we were alerted that Mew brought a human into this world and that human would be coming to help us with our problems, there were those among us who scoffed at the very thought of letting him in."

"However, we soon got a note from the Pokémon in Kalah Port. And according to them, the human risked his own life to protect a small child he probably didn't even know. As far as first impressions went, the human impressed me already. Of course, my tribe still didn't trust him. But, in the time of turmoil we had already, I was fully willing to give him the chance. And I'm glad I did. That human, Light, became a valuable ally, and a close friend."

"She must've been really lonely before, within her tribe" Lilac mused out loud, her eyes closed and her arms crossed. "Light, Mew, and that pikachu that was with them at the time, Florence, were probably her first friends. She must've felt a true bond for the first time."

"'I was always lonely within my tribe," Fennix said at the same time. "My duty bound me to keep mostly to myself, focusing slowly on training my mind for my coming duties as an oracle. Outside of my tribe, Pokémon looked at me with reverence and respect, but never dared get close to me. But it was Light, along with Mew and Florence, who became my first friends when I joined them on their quest to stop Dark Matter. Around them was the first time I felt a true bond.'"

As soon as Fennix finished, there was silence. Everyone was too busy looking at Lilac. Fennix wasn't sure why, as she was too busy reading to hear what Lilac said, but everyone else in the room heard it as clear as day. Lilac herself even looked surprised.

Light was the one who eventually broke the silence. "Uhh…Espurr? How did you know what Fennix was going to read before she read it?"

"Wait, what happened?" Fennix asked. "She did what?"

Lilac looked at her own paws. "I…I don't know. Those words just…came out of my mouth. I don't know where they even came from."

Both Mawile and Ampharos were much calmer than the two children. Mawile herself stepped in between the group. "It seems that we have much to discuss. But let us not do it here. Upon grabbing the Entercard, we should be able to return to the main entrance without going through any more dungeons. We'll discuss what happened there, when we're hopefully much calmer."

Mawile grabbed the Entercard from the pedestal and the light around the area quickly dimmed until it was dark as the main entryway. In fact, as they looked over towards the way they came, they saw the "stars" that lit up the entryway from their position, as they were only a few feet away.

"Wow, that close?" Light looked on with awe.

"It seems as if we were truly walking through an illusion," Ampharos mused. "And that time and space were truly distorted around us."

Mawile glanced at Ampharos. "Chief, if you would…"

Ampharos nodded. "You can count on me! I will head to the entrance of the tomb to contact Dedenne immediately. With any luck, we should be in contact with Espeon and Umbreon soon. You can use that time to explain what you can to our young friends here."

Mawile bowed. "Thank you, Chief."

Mawile turned her attention back to the three kids. "Let's leave this chamber, then."

* * *

"Again, I'm not entirely sure what happened back there," Lilac repeated once everyone had returned to the antechamber. "It wasn't a thought on my mind at the time. Those words just…happened." Lilac felt a chill creep down her spine as she spoke.

"That's super weird," Fennix commented. "And it was basically what I was saying, right?"

Light had his arms crossed and was tapping his left paw to the ground. "Yeah…basically. I mean, it was more of a summary of what you were about to say then anything. But the fact that it happened before Fennix even spoke…"

"I wish I knew myself," Lilac mumbled. She crossed her paws together and frantically thought of the possibilities.

 _My body was being used to say something. But how and why? Was it just another illusion, like the illusion of Kalah Port we just passed through? That's certainly possible, all things considering. Or maybe it was an unconscious thought that just passed through my lips. I don't know much about Puriah, but I might've guessed what Fennix was going to say next based on the context. That there were so many similar words might be a coincidence, and I might be overthinking this. Psychic manipulation probably isn't it, as I'd notice if I was being forced to say something, but at the same time if they were gentle enough...I don't know, it might be possible._

Fennix's eyes widened in realization, and she took a few steps backwards to get some distance between herself and Lilac. "Y-you weren't possessed by a ghost, were you?"

Light chuckled while Lilac sighed.

"I don't believe that to be true," Lilac explained. "I asked the litwick in Serene Village about that once, and they told me that they, at least, don't have the power to possess anyone. Maybe a powerful Ghost-type could, but I don't…"

Lilac exhaled loudly, realizing what stress was building up.

Light placed his left paw on her shoulder and looked at her with concern in his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I…don't know," Lilac admitted. "That's the problem. For everything I know, I don't know about this. There's so many possibilities, but I can't narrow it down at all. Normally, I'd be interested in stuff like this but…"

"If it is something like a Ghost possessing you, what else could possibly happen, right?" Light guessed.

Lilac nodded. "I suppose, I shouldn't be too worried. After all, there's other possibilities I thought of that aren't dangerous. And those seem more logical."

"The unknown is the greatest fear for all Pokémon." Upon hearing Mawile's voice, everyone turned to focus on her. "That there are so many possibilities, some more benign than others, that's where the fear comes from. It could be nothing, or it could be something dangerous. And that both are equally possible is something that would frighten anyone."

"So, what should we do then, Mawile?" Light asked.

"For now, we can't do anything. We don't have enough information to make any guesses worth merit. However, Espurr. You still retain full movement currently, correct?"

Lilac nodded, and to prove it, she shifted her body around a bit. "As strange as it is, I don't feel any different, or anything like that. I feel just fine."

"Then I wouldn't worry about it too much for now. We should keep going and see if it happens any other times. If it does, we can then make connections and narrow down the list of options."

Light's face for a moment suggested he himself was worried for a bit, but he eventually nodded and forced a smile on his face. "Yeah, what Mawile said. Warn is if you feel off, but otherwise, you should be fine."

"Of course she's fine!" Fennix said with a large, warm smile, not a care in the world on her face. "She's Espurr, and she's got us here with her!"

Mawile nodded. "For now, it is getting late. As the Chief will take a while to get back, I would recommend we all get some rest."

Lilac took a deep breath and, as she let it out, she felt a small bit of weight lift off of her shoulders. Regardless of the situation, Light and Fennix both had absolute confidence in her. Though she still had many questions on why and how her voice was suddenly used, and why she didn't notice it, at least she knew that she had friends to help.

With that weight lifted, Lilac sat down on the floor and thought to Puriah's story that Fennix told. The loneliness Puriah felt in her tribe, the warmth she must have felt when meeting Light and Fennix's past lives, Lilac understood both of those perfectly well. After hearing that, Lilac once again looked around the tomb, seeing the star-like patterns of Puriah and all her friends in a new light.

 _I wonder…if I were in her position, would I also build an entire tomb for my friends?_ Lilac thought as she looked around. _Either way, I can feel her sadness in the walls. Between Mew disappearing, Clover being stuck in the Tree of Life, and Light supposedly dying, things must have been hard on her. After gaining so many friends, to lose most of them so quickly, it must have been terrible._

However, hearing that gave Lilac her own reason to go through the tomb. More than just connecting with her two friends by learning more about their past lives, Lilac also decided she wanted to understand Puriah. With that, Lilac's face turned more determined, and she felt that resolve welling in her heart.

So Lilac focused on Mawile, who was looking at the card they got from the first chamber. Light was also watching her.

"You called that an 'Entercard', right?" Lilac asked.

"Yes," Mawile answered, her eyes still on the card. "This is actually the first time I've ever seen one of them in person, however. I suppose you would like an explanation, correct?"

"I am rather curious."

"So am I," Light chimed in. "This seems to be important to you, but I'm not sure why."

"There are some things I can't really tell you until we contact the Pokémon we're looking for, but I suppose I can at least tell you a bit about what the card is." Mawile put the card away and looked at the three kids. "The Pokémon we want to contact, dungeon researchers known as Espeon and Umbreon, a few years back learned how to temporarily create Mystery Dungeons using items called Entercards."

Light took a few steps back and Fennix's mouth hung open at the very thought. Lilac, on the other hand, looked at the card Mawile was holding with an intrigued and curious expression. While the very idea of creating Mystery Dungeons was ludicrous, which Light and Fennix both pointed out immediately, Lilac couldn't help but still find the idea fascinating.

"While it might sound impossible, it's also true that many Legendary Pokémon find themselves hiding important items within Mystery Dungeons, like the Time Gears which are said to regulate time in this world. So, they must have some way of creating dungeons. It was long theorized that it was possible, and Espeon and Umbreon confirmed it."

"So that's what Puriah did, right?" Light asked. "She's using Entercards to protect this tomb."

Lilac noticed the flaw with that idea immediately. "But Puriah lived thousands of years ago. Whereas Espeon and Umbreon just discovered this, right?"

Mawile nodded. "They first used their Entercards almost three years ago, you are correct. That's why I'm having the Chief try and contact the dungeon researchers themselves. That way, we can figure out where they got the idea for Entercards in the first place. Among other questions I have."

"Other questions?" Lilac asked.

"I will admit, when it comes to the how and why of dungeon creation, I know very little about it. But from what I've heard over the grapevine, Espeon and Umbreon used their Entercards to create dungeons that allowed them to cross large gaps of land in only a few short hours. These dungeons seem to be doing the opposite, though, and are instead creating large areas in a short space. So, I'm curious to the mechanics of that as well. To be frank, there's a lot I don't know about dungeon creation, so any and all info they could give me would be interesting."

Mawile looked over everyone's head into the black abyss that lead towards the entrance. "Of course, it's likely that the Chief won't actually contact them yet. He'll alert Dedenne and she'll send someone over to the Mist Continent to try and gain contact. So, it'll likely be a while before we're able to learn anything."

Light yawned, reminding everyone of how late it likely was. "We should probably also get some sleep. It's probably really late at night outside."

"There's no good place to do so, but go ahead if you need it," Mawile said. She turned her gaze back towards the Entercard. "The Chief and I will keep watch during the night."

* * *

 **AN:** Welcome to today's episode of spot the references to past games. Gates being the obvious one, but there's another for those who look carefully enough. I don't know whether I've mentioned this before, but one thing I really enjoy about writing stories for Super, and knowing that all the games exist in the same world in general, is making connections between the games. Exploring those connections and the implications thereof is rather enjoyable.

Beta read by TheGoldCrow


	7. The Gap Between Them

Lilac regained consciousness by a soft rubbing on her shoulder. Of course, even after regaining consciousness, she still felt groggy and it took her a few moments before she was able to sense the world around her telepathically. Despite that, though, she lifted herself off the ground and opened her eyes up, though she wasn't fully aware of what she was seeing yet. Despite all that, she opened her mouth and spoke.

"I'm awake, sir. Just give me a moment to get ready for my training."

"… 'Sir?' 'Training?' What are you talking about, Lilac?"

Hearing Light's voice helped Lilac fully wake up, her eyes widened, and she took a half-step back in shock. She quickly examined her surroundings now that her senses were back in working order. Light was directly in front of her, looking at her with a confused expression based on her earlier comment. Fennix was drawing something in some sort of paper using the charcoal at the end of a burnt stick. Ampharos and Mawile were both examining the star-like stones above them, Mawile holding a black book as they did.

Lilac turned her attention back to Light. "Sorry, it was just some dream I was having. Can't remember much of it, but I was about to start training for something."

Light just shrugged it off, accepting Lilac's explanation unquestioningly. "Okay, then. Anyways, since you're awake now, we can head over to the next trial."

"I'm surprised that I'm the last to wake," Lilac mused. "How did Fennix wake up before me?"

Light chuckled at the thought. "Might be the lack of light around here. The Chief had to wake the rest of us up when it became morning. And then I had to wake Fennix, obviously. So, I'm guessing the lack of a morning light is what kept you from waking up."

Lilac stretched and yawned. "Maybe you're right. Sorry."

Light shook his head and waved his left paw. "Nah, it's okay. We've got all day to explore this place, so a few extra minutes isn't that bad. Besides…" Light waved at everyone else. "We've all managed to keep busy."

Lilac nodded. "I noticed that. What are they doing?"

"Mawile thinks that the positions of the glowstones here might be in relation to how the night sky looked those thousands of years ago. So, she and Ampharos are trying to see if they can recognize the constellations using a book on them. If not, Fennix is drawing the stars, so they'll just send her drawing to Jirachi and see if he can figure something out." Light chuckled. "It's not really something important to use, but Mawile still wants to check it out. Something about immersing herself in the past. Which we're probably about to do plenty of."

Fennix spat out her stick on the floor next to her. "Well I'm done with my part." Fennix stood up, leaving the paper on the floor to cool down. "So, let's get moving!"

Mawile sighed and put her book down. "I suppose we should. It seems most of the "stars" are in different places then the night sky we're used to. So Jirachi would be the only one who can make sense of it. Still, if these stones were put in this position to reflect the night sky, at the time, that does prove that the position of the stars has changed within the last several thousands of years."

"Very well, then." Ampharos stood up to take his spot in addressing the crew. "Crew, shall we head off to the next trial?"

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

After going through the door with Puriah's constellation over it, and after going through the blinding light, the first thing that Lilac noticed was a sudden massive increase in heat. Even hotter than how it was in the desert, Lilac felt like she had fire on all sides of her body and she instantly started sweating. It was only after the light dissipated that she figured out exactly where the heat was coming from.

The dungeon that was created through that door was a cavern filled with either magma or lava. Said liquid fire ran like rivers just a few feet towards Lilac's left and right sides, carving out a small path off into the distance. Both Mawile and Ampharos were also on the same path as Lilac, checking their surroundings as well. However, as she noticed the river to her left, she saw that Light and Fennix were both on the other side of the river of fire. Something that Light was also soon noticing with a worried expression on his face.

"Chief, Espurr, Mawile!" Light called. "Are you all okay?!"

"Aside from the sudden increase in temperature, I'd say we're all fine," Ampharos called back. "May I assume that you and Fennix are doing well as well, despite the circumstances."

Fennix scoffed with a cocky expression on her face. "Fire-type, remember? Not sure about the Electric-type, though."

"The change in temperature caught me off guard, but I think I'll be fine. It doesn't seem to be hotter than Fire Island Volcano, at least." Light looked directly at Lilac. "What about you, though? You've never been in this kind of heat before, as far as I know."

"I've…felt better," Lilac hesitantly answered. Of course, that itself was the understatement of the century. Lilac felt like she was burning up in the place, like if she spent too long there it she would burst into flames. The fact that her fur was shorter than normal wasn't helping anything either. It felt so unbearably hot within the cavern.

Light seemed to understand her situation, either by the look on her face or the hesitation in her voice, so he quickly reached into his bag. Light pulled out a spotted light blue berry that Lilac instantly recognized as a Rawst Berry and threw it across the river of lava straight at her. It wasn't exact, but Lilac was able to use her Psychic to catch it all the same.

"Oh, thanks," Lilac said. She quickly stuffed the berry down her mouth. While it was nowhere perfect, she did feel slightly cooler in the heated air. Enough that it was like walking through the desert again, which she was fine with. She was used to this temperature from last summer.

"No problem," Light answered with a smile. "I was the same way during the Expedition Society's first outing when we explored a volcano. Buizel was the one who suggested I do this."

Mawile stopped her examining of the surroundings to turn her gaze at Light. "Light, do you have any idea of where we are?"

Light looked around for a few seconds, a thoughtful look on his face. "I'm…pretty sure we're in the interior of a volcano. But what volcano where, and why we're even here, I'm not really sure. For all I know, we could be on Fire Island Volcano."

"Do you know why you remember some things about the past, but not others?" Lilac asked.

Light rubbed the back of his head. "I…don't really know. Honestly, it's less that I 'remember' these things so much as when I see or hear something familiar, I recognize it. Like, when it comes down to my old friends, I vaguely remember them all, but I can't remember doing anything with them."

"It likely has to do with the specific method Mew used to seal off your memory," Mawile suggested. "It was likely supposed to only be temporary, until Dark Matter was destroyed. Whether it would have come back immediately or over time after everything, we don't know. And Beheeyem's psychic attack would have caused some issues as well. That's the most probable reason as to why your memory is so fragmented."

"Well, that's fun to know." Light still had a smile on his face, as if he found humor in the thought. But Lilac noticed a slight faltering in his smile, even as he said that. For a moment his face fell, and that told her all she needed to know.

Also, to hide it, Light turned to look at their respective paths. He soon noticed that his path eventually curved to the left while Lilac's side kept going straight. "Hmm…looks like we're going to have to split up from here. That...could be really bad."

"Yes, it seems the illusion is of an entire Mystery Dungeon this time," Mawile concurred. "While that means the trial itself is self-explanatory; we merely need to reach the end, that we're split up itself could be dangerous depending on how difficult this dungeon is. Our first priority should be to reconnect."

"Well, that'll be easy," Lilac said with a smile. "I'll keep a telepathic eye out while you guys go and see if I can find a connecting path."

"Thanks." Light waved off the group. "Alright, we'll head off on our own. Stay safe, you guys!"

"You be sure to stay safe as well," Ampharos responded.

With that, Light and Fennix went off on their own further into the dungeon. Lilac, Mawile, and Ampharos all started their way through as well not long after Light left. Ampharos and Mawile both took the front while Lilac stayed back, her focus mostly on where Light and Fennix were going. Still, she knew she couldn't pay attention to that for too long, as they would likely face some enemies soon. Speaking of which…

"Espurr, do you sense any adversaries?" Mawile asked.

Lilac opened her eyes to match Mawile's gaze. "Not particularly, no. I don't know if there just aren't any, or if they're like in the last trial: there but hidden to me. If I had a guess, though, I'd say enemies are more than likely."

Lilac clenched her paws at the thought of being unable to see anything enemies, but soon let out a deep breath and relaxed her muscles.

"An impression I myself am under," Ampharos stated as he looked around the area, vigilant for any signs of danger. "The idea that a place such as this would have no wild Pokémon guarding it is unlikely. And considering it's a volcano, Fire and Rock types are both more than likely as well."

Lilac nodded. "We'll have to keep our eyes and ears open. At least, as open as I can, in any case."

And, as they suspected, it wasn't much longer until they finally encountered some enemies. Mawile was the first to notice them, seeing them approaching from the distance. Once Mawile notified everyone else, Lilac walked to the side a bit to see the enemies past Ampharos.

"That's a…turtonator and torracat," Lilac said as she squinted to focus on the enemies. "Looks like the torracat is going to reach us first."

Mawile slightly bent her knees while Ampharos put one paw in front of the other, his left paw extended. Lilac focused, concentrating her psychic energy once again, getting ready to strike at the torracat when it gets close.

"Torracat is probably going to try and go for physical hits," Lilac quickly whispered. "Meanwhile we should avoid hitting the turtonator physically, especially from the back. Those spikes will explode if hit."

"Thank you, my friend," Ampharos whispered back. Mawile was only able to nod her thanks as soon the torracat was upon them.

The torracat saw Mawile as the perfect initial target and lunged at her, it's maw consumed by flames as it attempted to bite down on her. Mawile responded by grabbing at its outstretched forepaw with her own large maw before slamming the torracat down on the ground. Ampharos ran forward to follow up with his own attack on the torracat while it was incapacitated, but the torracat had other plans. From the orb-like flame sac on its neck, it shot a Flamethrower at Mawile. Despite her strength, Mawile still grunted in pain from the attack, and it was enough that she was forced to release the torracat.

"Mawile!" Lilac yelled as she saw that. Unfortunately, their situation was getting worse and worse, as not only was Mawile injured and the torracat freed, but the turtonator was finally in range to hit them with long ranged attacks.

 _Alright, stay calm Lilac,_ Lilac thought to herself. _We've…got to think of something. If Light were here, he'd already have some sort of plan or something. Just stay calm and think…_

"Espurr, aim for the spikes on its shell," Ampharos calmly commanded. Lilac glanced at him upon hearing his voice and saw that he was still marching towards the torracat, an intense look on his face despite the calm in his voice. Lilac then focused her attention on the turtonator, understanding exactly what Ampharos was asking for, and why.

Lilac brought her paws together and focused on shooting her Psychic blasts at the top spike on the turtonator's shell back. The attack impacted and the spike itself exploded. Not missing a beat, Lilac directed her attack around it's back in a clockwise order, hitting and exploding each of the spikes in turn until she hit all of them and the turtonator was veiled by smoke. A few seconds later a Flamethrower was shot from the turtonator that missed everyone else in the room.

With the turtonator momentarily incapacitated, Lilac was able to focus on the torracat. She noticed that Ampharos was already engaging it. The torracat swiped with its claws, but Ampharos dodged the same way as he did in the Earthshaken Caverns, gracefully and with precise movements. The torracat took a step back to focus on Ampharos and prepare for another attack, its maw burning once again, but before it was able to go more than a few steps forward, Mawile slammed its face with the large maw on the back of her head. Ampharos used Dragon Pulse to follow it up, the edge of the attack hitting Mawile but doing no damage. Both attacks were enough to knock it out and send it sliding across the ground.

"Mawile, are you okay?" Lilac asked.

"Worry about me later," Mawile answered. "We still have one more enemy to deal with, don't we?"

Lilac took a deep breath and faced the turtonator, who the smoke around was dissipating. "We'll need to hit it from its front if we want to deal damage. But even if it can't walk quickly, it can turn around quickly."

"Ah, but you forget that there are three of us and only one of him," Ampharos pointed out, a smile on his face. "Mawile, if you wouldn't mind."

Mawile nodded and walked up to Ampharos without any other words. Just like how they did back in the Earthshaken Caverns, Ampharos got on Mawile's back head while she was using Iron Head and Mawile launched him over the turtonator's head. While he was still in the air, Ampharos launched an Electro Ball at it. The turtonator was able to move its shell to block the attack, which left its front exposed to Mawile and Lilac.

"Now, Espurr," Mawile commanded before she rushed forward to attack its front.

The turtonator attempted to stop her by firing a Flamethrower in her direction before she could reach it, but Mawile ducked out of the way of the attack before looking Lilac straight in the eyes. Lilac guessed at what Mawile would ask without any words, and so she shot a Psybeam straight into the turtonator's face. The impact of the attack stopped the flow of fire from its mouth and allowed Mawile to rush in and hit the turtonator with her Play Rough attack. The series of blows were too much for the Pokémon, as it soon fell over onto its back, no longer able to fight.

Lilac took a few deep breaths to calm her tense nerves after the fight while Ampharos walked around the turtonator to join them.

Ampharos flashed both Lilac and Mawile a smile. "Well, well, well, it seems that's the end of that battle. Are you both doing fine?"

"I didn't take any damage." Lilac quickly said. "I'm more worried about Mawile."

"I sustained no burns. An Oran Berry will likely be enough for me to recuperate before the inevitable next fight." Mawile turned her gaze to Lilac. "I would worry less for me and more for your friends. If they haven't encountered any already, Light and Fennix should be warned about what exactly they could be fighting here."

Lilac's eyes widened at the thought, having nearly forgotten her friends, before she nodded. "Right. I'll get right on that."

So, Lilac closed her eyes and sensed for her friends with her telepathy. She could sense the natural distortions within the dungeon that normally prevented her from "seeing" too far into it, but Light's and Fennix's respective gadgets allowed her to easily break through the veil to reach them. She sensed them somewhere to the straight-left of where she was currently at. Once she located them, she connected with their minds and began communicating.

" _Light, Fennix, do you hear me?"_ she asked first, just to make sure they were listening. She couldn't sense any indication they were in battle from how calm they felt, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

" _Yeah, we do,"_ Light answered. " _What's up, Lilac? Do you see a path that'll connect us to your group?"_

" _No, not really. You seem to be really far away from us. Try and find the closest path that'll take you to the right as you can. And maybe even go back a bit. But that's beside the point. Have you guys found any enemies so far?"_

" _Nope!" Fennix answered. "It's honestly been really boring around here. Are there just no enemies or something?"_

" _No, there are."_ Lilac then went on to describe the battle they just had as quickly as she could so Light and Fennix would be better prepared for what could happen.

" _Yeah…that turtonator Pokémon sounds like it'll be difficult to fight for us,"_ Light concluded after Lilac was done. " _I can think of a couple of ways we could go about fighting it, but it might be better to just avoid or run away from one if we see it. Still, thanks for warning us."_

" _Oh, come on, I'm sure we'll be fine!"_ Fennix butt in _. "We've beaten stronger!"_

Lilac mentally sighed, though she wasn't surprised. " _Just be careful, Fennix. We can't assist you if something goes wrong until we can finally meet up."_

" _Careful? Fennix? You sure you're talking about the right Pokémon?"_ Light snarked.

" _Hey! I can be careful…sometimes."_

" _I can't think of a single instance where you've been careful since I've known you. And we've been on how many adventures together?"_

Lilac sighed at the reminder of Light and Fennix's lengthy past together. " _Anyways, I should get back. Be sure to contact me if you run into any new enemies. It'll be nice to know what we're up against."_

" _Will do. See you later, Lilac."_

With that, Lilac opened her eyes back, Mawile had already finished her Oran Berry. "So, I assume Light and Fennix are doing just fine?"

"They apparently haven't found any enemies yet," Lilac answered. "Doubt that'll last long, though. Still, I told them what to expect and I'm sure Light'll figure something out."

"Yes, I imagine Light will be just fine," Ampharos said. "Keep your eye on him, but your friends should be able to handle themselves." Ampharos posed for a few seconds. "We should be off ourselves, so we can meet up with them! Let's go, crew!"

However, as they continued through the dungeon, Lilac thought about the last battle she was in again, and felt a sigh escape her lips when she thought about how well Ampharos and Mawile worked together. While they acted significantly different, their ability to work with each other so well reminded her of her friends. And it reminded Lilac of just how out of place she was in the group.

"Poké for your thoughts?" Ampharos asked, likely from hearing Lilac's sigh.

Lilac looked away for a few seconds. "I suppose I better. Chief, be honest with me. I haven't been all that helpful within this Expedition, have I?"

"What makes you think that?" Ampharos asked.

"Something I've noticed from the past two battles." Lilac turned to face Ampharos once again. "Light and Fennix, along with you and Mawile, you guys have really good synergy with each other. In the last battle, and even in this one, you guys really worked well together. But I haven't been. All I've been doing is just attacking things. I don't have anything like Light and Fennix's Grass Knot and Solarbeam combo, or like Mawile and your Bite and Dragon Pulse combo."

"Did you expect to have something like that after only being with us for so long and not being a field agent?" Mawile asked. "I don't mean to sound cruel, but the Chief and I have been working together for years, and Light and Fennix have been out in the field for six months now. While you have only recently joined us, and you stick back and watch. It's hard to develop synergy with anyone else like that. If you were worried about that, you could have joined Team Rebirth as an active explorer."

Lilac took a deep breath. "To be honest, I meant what I said to Light when I first joined. I do want to help not just Light and Fennix, but all you guys, as thanks for your part in saving my life. But, to be honest, there was also another reason."

Lilac looked to the red rock ceiling as if it were the sky. "It's not really an issue of power, for me. I don't doubt my strength. It's an issue of my role in battle. There's nothing much that differentiates Fennix and me in terms of battle style. Fennix and I both strike from far away, but while Fennix has Flame Charge to get in close if she needs to and Protect in case she needs to block an attack, I'm a pure long ranged attacker. And I certainly can't synergize with Fennix that well for similar reasons. I've thought about things even after becoming a navigator, while watching Light and Fennix work together in dungeons, and there's nothing I can really do that Fennix can't do, and she can do more. That worry was the second reason I chose the navigator, because it was the only way I could consider myself useful."

"Do you not feel that your role as our navigator is important?" Ampharos asked. There was no disappointment in his voice, nor could she hear any sort of condescending tone. He was asking as if he were a genuinely curious father trying to help a child.

Lilac grabbed onto her own arm. "I…don't know. I guess I just don't feel like I'm being that useful if I'm not out there battling."

"If I were to give a guess, it might be your gender," Mawile mentioned. "While espurr don't have any significant gender differences, your evolution does. Female meowstic learn moves more oriented to combat while male meowstic are more oriented to support. The same biological difference might also lead you to psychologically prefer helping by fighting over support. There's no historical evidence of female meowstic having support roles, though that doesn't mean there has never been."

"Good to know," Lilac sighed.

"If it helps any, perhaps you can explain to us why you feel so discontented with your navigation role," Ampharos suggested. "While we can't help your own preference for combat, we can at least take things one step at a time. And then perhaps someday you can find a role that suits your preferences."

Lilac had to pause for a moment at just how understanding and calm Ampharos was at the whole situation. Here she was, being far more open than she normally did, basically complaining about her job, and here he was, willing to listen to her and help her out. At that moment, Lilac got a slight smile as she understood why Fennix respected Ampharos so much.

"I know this isn't something to worry about once I start navigating for everyone in the society, but for Light and Fennix, I sometimes feel like they'll eventually stop needing me. While I might be smarter than Light, Light retains information really well. Like, in the Earthshaken Cavern, Light didn't need me to tell him anything about the enemies there because he's fought enemies like those before. So how long will it be until all I'm doing is warning him about enemy ambushes? That's hardly that useful, unless they're in a really dangerous spot."

"As, so you're worried that you might no longer be useful to your friends," Ampharos mused. He stopped his walk for a few seconds to pose. "Well my friend, that I can help you with. After all, I am more than confident that Light and Fennix will never not need you!"

Lilac tilted his head, giving Ampharos a confused glance for a couple of seconds. "Are you…sure?"

Ampharos nodded with a smile. "Very much, so."

"…Really?" Lilac felt a strange wave of relief just from hearing that, despite not knowing how. "Would you mind telling me how I'm helpful?"

"I can indeed tell you, if you wish."

Lilac paused for a moment at the odd expression Ampharos was giving her. "Yeah…that'd be…great."

"I can tell you, if you wish."

Mawile sighed. "Chief, could you stop teasing her like this?"

Lilac's soon realized exactly what Ampharos was suggesting. "Oh, I get it Chief. You want me to learn on my own what value I have to the team, right?"

"If you want to learn on your own, that would be fine too," Ampharos said. "Whatever helps in your own personal growth. Just take comfort in knowing that you do have value as a navigator, even if you don't see it yet."

Lilac nodded. "I will, as best as I can."

Ampharos faced forward, and the crew continued through the dungeon. "Good. As for combat, perhaps talking to Light and Fennix and seeing what they think will help. Light's the one who came up with most of the combinations himself and Fennix use, after all. So, he might be able to help lift that burden from you. Otherwise, just do what you usually do, and observe. You might find yourself learning what you need to learn just through observation."

* * *

 **AN:** Beta read by TheGoldCrow


	8. The Past Veiled in Smoke

While Lilac, along with Ampharos and Mawile, made their way across the right side of the dungeon, Light and Fennix were walking across the left. Their path, luckily for them, wasn't filled with danger so far. They ran into a torracat and a shuckle, but neither Pokémon gave the duo much trouble and they continued to make their way through the volcano.

While doing so, Light looked around for any sign that would allow him to recognize the area they were in. Unfortunately, no matter what angle he looked nor how hard he looked, he couldn't figure out where he was. For all he knew, they could be in Fire Island Volcano once again. It had a similar red rock, those these rocks seemed slightly darker, at least to Light's eyes. The haze, this time caused by smoke, didn't help.

"Still nothing?" Fennix asked. Light glanced at her and saw that she was examining his face, likely seeing him trying to remember the area.

Light shook his head. "Unfortunately. It's so odd, you know. I recognized Kalah Port instantly, but this place is a complete blur. It's…a little frustrating, in a way."

Fennix lowered her head and sighed. "At least you have some memories in the first place. Meanwhile I'm looking at these places and remembering nothing."

Light paused for a moment, thinking of how to explain himself. "I…understand why you want these memories. You want to know and understand your past life, want to honor our old friends by knowing about them, things like that. But honestly, I think I'd rather be like you and not have these."

Light looked to the sky. "It's almost painful in a way. I have these vague memories, these small things, but I can't remember anything about them. I know our old friends exist and I sort of remember them, but I can't remember any specific instances of traveling with them. When I try to go deeper, try remembering something I might've did with Puriah, something I might've said with Florence, anything like that, I come up at a wall. And…"

Light suddenly went silent as he looked at his own two paws. " _The worst part is, I don't even remember who I was. The human who took on the name Light, I don't remember anything about him. I don't know a single thing about who I was and how I came to this world in the first place."_

"I think I'd rather know something other than nothing," Fennix responded. "It really sucks knowing you used to be this amazing Pokémon who went out on a cool adventure with a bunch of great friends and have no memories of it. All I've got left from Mew in me is being able to read the Ancient Language. At least you know what all those Pokémon we used to travel with was like. I can only figure it based on Pop's or your stories."

Light sighed. "Guess it's something we both have to agree to disagree on." However, he found something to chuckle on. "Wish we could trade places. It'd make things easier for the both of us."

Fennix also chuckled. "Yeah, that'd be nice. Maybe Lilac knows some Psychic trick that'll work."

"Doubt it." Light stretched. "Anyways, we should really get a move on. We're still probably nowhere near the rest of the group. And we should reconnect with them all before we reach the end."

Fennix stopped for a few seconds before continuing to follow Light. "Wait, why? If we reach the end, we just need to take that weird card thing, don't we? Then the dungeon will disappear, and we'll be able to reconnect."

Light rubbed the back of his head. "Call it just a feeling, but so far it's felt…too easy. Like, that turtonator gave Lilac, Chief, and Mawile a bit of trouble, but as for us, we've been going through this place with no trouble. Which worries me. I can't imagine, for whatever trial Puriah made, that it'd just be a standard dungeon. There must be something else this dungeon has to offer."

" _We've been thinking the same thing,"_ Lilac's voice chimed in Light and Fennix's head.

" _Oh, Lilac, has anything happened to you?"_ Light telepathically asked.

" _Nope. We're still going through the dungeon. Nothing else really that eventful has happened. I think you guys are getting closer, though. Hopefully, we'll be able to meet up soon. But we were talking while going through, and we were thinking the same thing as you. There's got to be something else in this dungeon, some reason that Puriah would have chosen this dungeon to guard this tomb."_

" _Unfortunately, I can't help there,"_ Light shrugged. " _I still can't remember a thing."_

" _Yeah…I know."_ Lilac's mental voice was soft for a moment. " _Still, be careful you guys. I can't sense anything, but that doesn't mean there's nothi-"_

" _Guys, I think I hear something!"_ Fennix interrupted.

Light stopped for a moment to listen carefully. And he heard the same thing that Fennix did. It was a low mumbling, barely audible and certainly not intelligible, but they did indeed hear what sounded like talking. And Light could tell that the chatter was between two different Pokémon, suggesting it wasn't the illusionary Wild Pokémon.

" _Lilac, we're going to have to get back to you."_

Light could sense that Lilac nodded. " _I can't hear what you're listening to, but I can tell it's important to you._ _Alright, we'll talk later, then."_

One Lilac was done, Light and Fennix both nodded at each other before they continued their way through the dungeon, following the sound of the voices as they could. Eventually, they saw an enclosed cavern and the voices started growing louder as they approached. Light and Fennix approached the walls and looked carefully into the cavern to see who was talking.

Inside the cavern was two Pokémon, a braixen and a Sky-Forme shaymin were both sitting in the middle of the cavern. The shaymin was wearing two small green bags on her sides and had some strange jewelry on her neck that looked like a cross between a sunflower and a Gracedia, with alternating gold and pink petals and a brown center. The braixen had a silver tiara on her head and was wearing a bright purple robe. She was also tending to some sort of wound on the shaymin's left forepaw, though Light couldn't see the nature of the wound from his vantage point.

"Urrh…oww…th-thanks, Puriah," the shaymin groaned. "Exploring a volcano is not a fun task for a Grass-type. Even if I can fly. Kinda why I say away from any glaciers or volcanoes in my travels. Not that it's a problem to you, I bet."

"Puriah?" both Light and Fennix whispered to each other.

"This is my first time in a volcano too, but you're right, it's not that bad for me," Puriah said. "I'm sorry for what happened to you, though. The great adventurer Clover, stuck exploring a volcano because of us."

Clover just scoffed at the idea. "Pfft, what, you don't call this an adventure? Sure, it's not the type I would have normally gone on, but it's an adventure all the same. And with a human, too! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

"That's an interesting way of looking at things." Puriah sat down next to Clover. "I hope the others are fine, though. That sudden explosion and lava flow has made things rather difficult for all of us."

"Certainly not the most stable volcano in the world," Clover snarked. "But hey, I imagine most of our friends are probably fine, depending on who they ended up with. Wartortle has the type advantage against most things here and Mew's well…Mew. Florence might be having some trouble, but he's nothing if not determined. It's the human I'd be most worried about. He's pretty useless without the rest of us there."

Puriah stood up. "The human isn't…!"

However, Clover just waved her off. "He sort of is. Sure, the human has his reason for being on the team, but his ability to fight isn't one of them. But that's nothing new. I don't knock him for it, unlike Wartortle. Humans were always like that. That's why we're in the Fiery Basin in the first place. To find that Tapu and give the human an item to help with that."

"Tapu?" Fennix whispered. "Find an item?"

However, Light was silent, despite the questions that Fennix was shooting. His focus remained on the conversation ahead of him, as he felt a pit bury itself in his chest.

Puriah, while she still seemed to be slightly miffed, at least sat down next to Clover once again. "That's…something I've been meaning to ask you actually. In my tribe, even talking about humans is a taboo. But those that dare to do so always talk about humans with contempt. And there are no humans around anymore, other than the one traveling with us. Since you were around back then, I'm wondering: what happened?"

Light felt his heart stop at the question. Seeing Clover's smile fall and her turning her head away didn't help either. Light could still see her face and eyes, and on her expression was a depth of sorrow.

Clover soon put on a fake smile and turned back to Puriah. "…Y-you know, you've could always just ask Mew. I'm sure he'd be willing to tell you."

"The human tends to stick around Mew. And…considering the contempt Pokémon in my tribe—heck even the Legendary Pokémon—give to the human I'd…rather not ask anyone while the human is in earshot. Just in case it's…you know. The human has enough weight on his shoulders, he doesn't need to be worrying that his entire race are a band of monsters." Puriah paused for a moment, as Clover looked away once again, reading her actions. "Is it really that bad?"

Clover was silent for a few seconds. "…Sorry, Puriah, but all shaymin who were alive back then made a vow never to speak of the event. I can't tell you."

"Can't, or won't?" Puriah asked.

"In a way, both." Another long pause came before Clover continued. "I suppose I can tell you this much, at least. It…wasn't ether the humans' or the Pokémon's fault. Despite what your tribe or the Legendaries might make you think. We both…made some pretty stupid mistakes. It's our own folly to ignore our mistakes in the event."

"So neither were to blame," Puriah mused. "I suppose the human might be happy to hear that. Even though that implies some humans did cause some sort of problem."

"…Hey, Puriah, I want to admit something to you." Clover was still facing away as Puriah's eyes widened. "To be honest, there are times that I see Dark Matter, and all that it's doing, as our punishment for what happened back then. We don't know how such a thing came to exist in the first place, and I'm sure you've heard plenty of superstition about it, so I should probably be more logical about it, but I just…think that sometimes. That all the chaos that has happened so far, it's all our fault. And that we shouldn't bother trying to fight it."

Puriah nodded. "I…understand that perspective, at least. Many horrible things have happened lately. And this will probably only get worse from here. I just hold out hope that things will turn out okay in the end. And I do believe the human is our hope. He's proven that to me time and again."

Clover finally faced Puriah and nodded. "I'm not saying I'm giving up. I still have a lot of exploring to do, and I need our world to still exist to explore it. But…you know. Things are rough. Still…" Clover closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them and standing up. "Let's get moving. We should catch up with the others."

"Will you be fine?" Puriah asked.

Clover nodded. "It'll take a bit more than a tiny burn to get me down! I'll be fine."

After saying those words, the figures of Clover and Puriah disappeared into a thin mist before becoming the smoke of the volcano. Light was silent for a few seconds as he felt his heart pound from the scene in front of him. Fennix walked closer, her eyes giving Light an inquisitive gaze.

"Light, are you okay?" she asked.

Light breathed for a few seconds before answering. "That scene. I…saw it before."

"You did?!"

Light nodded. "It's just like what Clover said. The place exploded, and lava started flowing everywhere. I was fine, since I ended up with Mew, and he was able to take care of most of the enemies here. Eventually, we made it exactly where we are now, and I overheard Clover and Puriah talking. Mew wanted to eavesdrop, but I wanted to go in. But when they mentioned me…I stayed out here and listened in."

"Wait, so this was something we both saw?" Fennix excitedly did a backflip and gained a large smile on her face. "That's great! I got a new memory of the pas…"

Fennix's jubilation was quickly dashed by Light's forlorn expression. "Hey, Light? Puriah really trusted you, you know? I…don't know what happened in the past that caused humans to be…treated like that, but you must've been a really good person if Puriah trusted you like that. And even Clover seemed to like you, and she was there back then."

"I…know," Light wheezed. "I…know, I just…" Light took a few moments to collect his thoughts before continuing. "I think…back when I saw this the first time, I only focused on how much humans were hated and how it was partially our fault that the world was like the way it was and I..."

"It probably wasn't very fun to hear, huh? But you're okay now, right?" Fennix asked. Light could see the genuine worry in her face.

Light looked to the floor, thinking for a moment. In all honesty, it wasn't the past that was bothering him. It was the implications of what he realized upon hearing that. However, for the sake of Fennix, Light pushed that all to the side. Eventually, he lifted his head and gave Fennix as warm of a smile as he could.

"Yeah, I'm fine now," he lied. "That's all in the past, right? Besides, now we know what we're doing here. So we should tell Lilac about it."

Fennix nodded, a smile appearing on her face. "Yeah. I'll let you start."

Light nodded before he closed his eyes. The pikachu always found the idea of communicating with a psychic to be awkward, since he really had no concept of how she would be able to detect that he was trying to communicate anyways. That, and with his current mental state, he knew she'd pick up something. Knowing she could easily go through his mind and pick up on his inner fears made Light nervous. Still, he had information for them, so he gave it anyways.

" _Uhh…hey, Lilac?"_ Light mentally asked.

" _Yeah, I'm listening,"_ Lilac's voice came into Light's head. " _So, what'd you find out."_

Light repeated to Lilac what happened and what they overheard. Though he avoided the issue of Clover and Puriah's conversation on humans, and instead focused specifically on the place they were in and the likely reason they were going through it.

" _Interesting. Mr. Carracosta did mention that you had some sort of strange power you used as a human. This might be where you got it. In that case, that's likely why Puriah chose this specific dungeon and this specific moment."_

Light nodded, taking this opportunity to keep the conversation away from the things he left out. " _That's what I'm thinking. What Pokémon is this Tapu though, anyways? I've never heard of that Pokémon before."_

" _The Tapu isn't one single Pokémon, but rather four," Lilac answered. "They are Land Spirits who are said to protect Pokémon and nature. Said, in any case. They're apparently rather fickle. But, back after you guys…" Lilac paused for a moment, "back when Yvaltal started turning Pokémon to stone, they were among the first Legendary Pokémon to try fighting him. Unfortunately, as you can imagine, they failed."_

" _Is there anything about them powering up Pokémon?"_

" _Hmm…I'll ask the Chief and Mawile about that. See if they know anything. I only know about what the Tapu are, I haven't learned any of the legends surrounding them. I'll be sure to tell you when we meet up."_

Fennix joined in on the mental conversation. " _Are we getting close?"_

" _Yeah, I think so,"_ Lilac answered, a slight excitement in her voice. " _Do you see a pathway coming up on your right?"_

" _Umm…just give me a second,"_ Light mused. Both himself and Fennix walked across the enclosed area that Clover and Puriah were sitting in and path split with lava, one going right, the other going left. Looking right, Light could see part of another pathway in the distance that looked like they would connect further on, just outside of Light's vision. " _Yeah, I see it."_

" _You might not be able to see us yet, but we're on that pathway. In fact, I can just barely see you with my eyesight. If we just keep going a bit longer, we should be able to reconnect soon!"_

Light smiled. " _Alright, cool. Well, we'll see you in a bit then."_

* * *

 **AN:** So, a bit of an apology for being gone for so long. To make a long story short, my beta reader is now DMing a D&D campaign, that takes place in the canon PMD world, that I'm also taking part in. And along with that campaign, I've been working on transcribing the thing to eventually turn into a fanfiction. Because of those things, I haven't really been writing too much of this story lately and my beta reader has a bunch of stuff he needs to prepare every other week for the D&D sessions, limiting his time as well.

This story is still being worked on, don't worry. It'll just take me a bit longer to get each chapter out due to those circumstances. And I'll eventually be submitting the campaign as a story format sometime in the near future. But, for those that want to watch it, you can find all five sessions we've done already on TheGoldCrow's channel, and we stream it live on Sunday the 24th at 8:00PM EST. After that, we'll be going every other Friday.

Still, I thank you for your patience.


	9. The Meaning of Conflict

Light and Fennix continued onward, keeping an eye on the other path across the lava as they did so. Eventually, they noticed the point where the two paths connected into a Y shape. With renewed energy, the two ran to the point where both paths connected. As Light made it, he immediately turned around to glanced down the other path in hopes that he would see his friends. His hopes were well founded, as he immediately saw Ampharos, Mawile, and Lilac walking along the path. Lilac noticed him as well and waved.

"Hello Light, Fennix," Lilac called. "Looks like you guys are no worse for wear."

Light nodded, a large smile on his face as a small weight lifted. "Yeah. You guys seem to be doing well enough, too. Did you run into any other trouble?"

"We had one other encounter that could have been dangerous," Lilac answered. "Camerupt, so we were at a disadvantage. Luckily, we managed to dodge its Eruption and Mawile and I were able to take care of them. I'd ask about you guys, but I was keeping an eye on you. Unless you got attacked while we were fighting the camerupt, you didn't seem to be having any issues."

Light shook his head. "Nah, we were fine."

By then, the two groups were finally together once again, so Ampharos stood ahead of the group while everyone else looked at him for leadership. "Alright crew, it's good to see us all together and well. And, thanks to Light and Fennix, we now know where we are and what we're doing."

Light nodded as he felt all eyes fall on him. "This dungeon is called the Fiery Basin and apparently there's a Pokémon called the Tapu here. In the past I came here to get an item from that Tapu so that I could help fight."

"Which Tapu?" Mawile asked.

To that, Light could only shrug. "Espurr told me that there were four of them, but I honestly can't remember which one was here. Or…any of them at all, if I'm being honest. Sorry."

"Tapu Koko, Tapu Fini, Tapu Lele, and Tapu Bulu," Mawile said. "Each of them representative of something different. Tapu Fini represents hope, Tapu Lele love, Tapu Bulu abundance, and Tapu Koko conflict. Based on that information, I would imagine that we're off to meet with Tapu Koko."

"Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?" Fennix asked.

"In a way, both," Mawile answered. "The Tapu are known for being capricious, but as Tapu Koko values those strong in combat, we may be able to prove out strength to him. That, likely enough, is the final part of this trial. The five of us should be more than enough for only him."

"Then let's go!" Fennix cheered. "Let's beat Puriah's next trial."

"Indeed, young Fennix." Everyone turned their attention back to Ampharos as he spoke. "I imagine we should be close to the end here. It won't be long now. So, let's give it one more push, crew!"

"Yes, sir!" everyone answered him as they all continued to make one final push through the dungeon.

* * *

As Ampharos suggested, the end of the dungeon wasn't too farther in. Not only that, but the end of the dungeon was obviously marked. There was another enclosed cavern within the volcano, like the one that Light and Fennix saw the memory of Puriah and Clover in, only the cave entrance here had two totems made of wooden carvings of bird Pokémon heads.

"Yep, that's definitely the end of the dungeon," Fennix deadpanned. "Geeze, it's like the boss of the dungeon is saying 'I'm right here, come and battle me!'"

"Well, it is Tapu Koko," Lilac pointed out. "That's sort of the point."

"Moreover, this is reminding me of that one Grass Continent town we docked in that one time," Light mused. "What was it called again? Treasure Town? Is there a connection?"

"As the Grass Continent is the most abundant of the continents, it tends to be visited by Tapu Bulu quite a bit," Mawile answered. "Though I'm not all too familiar with the history of each town on there, it wouldn't surprise me if Treasure Town has some connection to the Tapu."

"Anyways, shall we go on?" Ampharos asked. "Let's finish this second trial."

Everyone else nodded and they all walked into the cavern. The room was circular with lit candles lining up the perimeter. Within the middle of the room sat some sort of yellow bird head with three white diamonds in the middle, a black beak with red triangles on the top, and wings that looked way too small to get any sort of flight. As Light looked over the creature, he found it rather odd.

"Is that the Tapu you were talking about?" Light asked.

"Good, you aren't ignorant," the strange bird thing said.

The bird head split open, revealing that it was merely a shell. Light and Fennix both took a step back at the sight of the Pokémon revealing itself. However, Mawile, Ampharos, and Lilac all managed to remain calm in the face of the reveal.

" _That is what Tapu Koko actually looks like,"_ Lilac telepathically explained. _"What you saw before was just its shell."_

"Don't speak, I already know why you're here," Tapu Koko continued. "You are here so the human is less useless in fights. You wish for the great power that makes moves stronger than normal to face Dark Matter."

"Hey! Light isn't useless!" Fennix yelled.

Mawile stepped forward, her giant maw facing to the side and ready to be swung at any moment. "Yes, we are. So, you wouldn't mind giving it to us, would you?"

Tapu Koko examined her. "Based both on your position and tone, you already know what my answer is."

"Why?" Fennix growled. "Why would you do this? You know if Dark Matter wins, the world will end, right?!"

"Fennix, you do remember that Dark Matter is gone, right?" Lilac whispered. "We're just in the past."

Tapu Koko answered Fennix's complaint before Fennix was able to answer Lilac. "If you are too weak to be able to face me, what hope do you think you have against Dark Matter? Now enough talk." Tapu Koko glanced across the entire party before his eyes went onto Light. "You."

Light took a step back. "Me? What about me?"

"Human. If you wish to gain this power, you yourself must battle me alone."

"What?!" Light and Fennix both asked.

Lilac looked confused as well. "How could he know Light was a human? How could anyone know that, just based on looks? Unless this is just something Puriah does, but why would she? To make it completely like how it was in the past?"

"That would be most likely, though I'll admit it's strange as well," Mawile mused. "Human are rare in this world; I can't imagine that Puriah would expect the descendants of her friends to know one. And Light was dead, as far as she knew. Still, this does give us some sort of advantage."

Tapu Koko let out a discharge of electricity that, while it didn't hit anybody in the group, did get their attention. "I said, enough talk! I have no intention of fighting anyone else. The human is my opponent; nobody else."

"Light, can you handle it?" Mawile asked.

Light looked over at the Legendary Pokémon. _Ugg…I've never beat a Legendary Pokémon in battle without help before. This should be…fun._

However, Light gave his bag to Lilac before he stepped forward, getting on four paws, ready for the battle at hand. " _Lilac, do you know anything about Tapu Koko's battling capabilities?_ "

" _He's Electric/Fairy. He prefers Physical attacks, but it can also use Special attacks rather well. The biggest thing you need to watch out for is his speed. Tapu Koko is said to zip around the battlefield like lightning, getting close and attacking his opponents before running away. He's most likely much faster than you, so you won't be able to use your speed to win this battle."_ Lilac paused for a moment. " _Honestly, I'm not sure how you're supposed to win as you are now, let alone how you won this battle as a human."_

" _I'll…think of something,"_ Light answered, even though he was thinking the same thing. " _Thanks Lilac."_

"Good, it seems you have courage, at least." Tapu Koko floated with one shelled arm in front of the other, floating quickly up and down as he did so. "But let's see if you have the strength to back it up."

Light nodded. "Let's go."

Tapu Koko suddenly disappeared, leaving Light to frantically look around to see where he went. Unfortunately, Light couldn't see anything before his stomach was suddenly slammed and he was sent flying back. Light hit and rolled across the ground and, by the time he reoriented himself, Tapu Koko returned to his earlier position in the sky.

"Well, that sucked," Light groaned as he lifted himself back up on his feet.

"Light, are you okay?!" Fennix called.

"He's…he's so fast," Light grunted. _Shoot. My usually technique of dodging and blocking isn't going to work here. Or at least, it's going to be much more difficult. And he's so strong too. Just one attack and I already am feeling the pain._

"Is that the best you can do, human?" Tapu Koko asked with disdain.

 _Gotta thing of something, fast,_ Light thought.

Tapu Koko summoned electricity in between his shell that formed a sphere when he was done. When he was done forming the Electro Ball, he powerfully shot it in Light's direction. The pikachu had only a split second before the attack hit him, but he managed to react quickly enough by using Iron Tail and deflecting it. Light couldn't deflect it in Tapu Koko's direction, but he did at least send the Electro Ball towards the ceiling. The attack exploded, but nothing else happened because of it.

Light took this momentum and rushed towards Tapu Koko before hopping in the air, his tail still glowing silver. As Light got close enough, he swung his tail as powerfully as possible. However, Tapu Koko was too fast and darted away a second before Light's attack could have impacted him. Tapu Koko then flew above Light and slammed him back to the ground with another Quick Attack. Light was able to still use his Iron Tail to help break his fall, but he felt winded from his failed attack.

Without giving Light much of a chance to recover from his fall, Tapu Koko's shells glowed silver and he rushed at Light with a Steel Wing. Light was just barely able to dash past that attack, and when Tapu Koko still rushed at Light, Light used Brick Break to counter Steel Wing with an effective attack. While it didn't do much damage specifically to Tapu Koko, it was enough to deflect him back, and Tapu Koko quickly zipped back into the sky which gave Light some space.

" _Light, how are you holding up?"_ Lilac telepathically asked him.

" _Oh, you know, about as well as possible,"_ Light mentally snarked. " _If you've got any ideas, feel free to mentioned them."_

Before Lilac could give any suggestions, Tapu Koko disappeared once again, likely getting ready for another Quick Attack. Light knew that he couldn't give a guess as to where the attack would come from, but he decided not to sit around and let it happen. So, the pikachu began running for the other side of the room, his eyes snapping back and forth as he prepared for some sort of attack.

" _Light, the attack is coming from your left!"_ Lilac warned.

Light reacted as soon as he heard those words, his tail glowing silver as he protected his left side. Lilac's words came in at just the right time, as Tapu Koko's Quick Attack hit Light's Iron Tail with a clang resounding from the clash of attacks. With the attack bounced off, Light had an opening and slammed his Iron Tail into Tapu Koko's chest, between his shell. The attack managed to reel back Tapu Koko, but he was still able to float just fine.

"So, you do have some fight in you after all," Tapu Koko said. "Good. I hoped you wouldn't bore me."

Tapu Koko once again brought some electricity together in a sphere and shot another Electro Ball at Light, hoping that their proximity would allow the attack to hit. However, Light was able to deflect the Electro Ball as he previously had, sending it into the ceiling again. Seeing that attack fail, Tapu Koko rushed quickly back to a safer position.

" _So far, so good, I guess,"_ Light thought. " _But I'm still not dealing nearly enough damage. I'll need to think of something…"_

Light's eyes glazed up as he was focusing on Tapu Koko and he noticed several marks on the ceiling from the constant attacks that battered it. As he looked at it, a plan formed into his mind. A dangerous plan, and one he hesitated on initially, but he knew it was his only chance at winning.

" _Lilac tell Fennix to use Solarbeam on the roof,"_ Light commanded telepathically.

Tapu Koko rushed back in Light's direction, preventing him from being able to hear what Lilac's response was. Light rushed away and dodged the attack, butTapu Koko was fierce in his constant attacks, and eventually Light was backed into a wall between two of the candles. Tapu Koko eventually launched a strike aimed at Light's face, which Light ducked under before he, crouching low as possible, used Iron Tail to push himself off the wall and launch himself away.

"Oh no you don't!" called Tapu Koko. "You're not getting away from me!"

Tapu Koko slammed the ground and a purple shockwave rippled from where he struck. That purple shockwave quickly engulfed Light and threw him back, and when he touched the field once again, the ground glowed the same purple color and several prismatic bolts erupted from that spot. Light felt pain rack through his body and felt his energy drain from the attack, so much so that he couldn't help but cry out from it.

"W-what was that?" Light grunted as he attempted to stand up. He managed, but he felt the fatigue from that one attack, and he was only barely able to stand. He knew that running around wouldn't be possible either, at least in his current state.

"Nature's Madness, the signature ability of all of us who guard this world," Tapu Koko explained. "While it can't outright take out a Pokémon, it drains half their energy away from them. And it's not something you can just simply avoid. Perfect for those like you, who keep running. You face a Legendary Pokémon, remember?"

" _Ugg…he's got a point,"_ Light groaned. " _Lilac, is Fennix almost done?"_

" _She stopped for a moment when she saw you get hit by the attack, but I got her back to charging. But you need to think of something in the meantime. You need to hold out just a little bit longer."_

Light sighed, preparing himself for the worst. He braced himself and his muscles, even though he was having trouble getting them to listen to him. Tapu Koko was also preparing for another attack, getting ready for another Electro Ball. Light prepped to deflect it once again by placing his tail across his stomach, since he knew he wouldn't be able to deflect it normally. Tapu Koko shot the Electro Ball regardless and Light sent the attack to the ground with a flick of his tail. Doing that, though, took a lot of energy for him to do so.

"It seems you're on your last legs," Tapu Koko said. "Very well. Let's end this."

However, before Tapu Koko could attack, a bright green beam was shot straight into the roof of the cavern, causing a large explosion and sending several rocks falling towards the ground. Seeing this, Light used his last bit of energy and jumped into the air, taking advantage of this opportunity despite his fatigue.

Tapu Koko dodged around the rocks, but the multitude of debris greatly limited his ability to dodge around. What didn't help was that Light flung himself into the air and was starting to break boulders with Iron Tail and send them careening towards Tapu Koko. While Tapu Koko was distracted and taking damage from relentless barrage, Light went as high above him as he could. Once there, Light fell back to the ground, using gravity to increase the power of is Iron Tail. And while Tapu Koko was distracted, Light's attack connected, sending them both to the ground. And once they impacted, tons of dust was sent everywhere.

Once Light felt his feet connect with the earth, he quickly ran away from the dust pile he created to avoid combining his fatigue with a lack of oxygen. By then, the rocks that were shaken loose had already filled and no more rocks were falling. Light panted once, twice, three times as he waited for the dust to settle to see whether he was victorious or not. Eventually it did, and there Tapu Koko was floating, an annoyed expression on his face.

"N-no," Light breathed. He knew his body was done, that last attack was the last thing he could do. "F-fine. I…surrender."

Tapu Koko's arms went into a much more unguarded position and his face softened. "You had help."

"We never fought against you!" Fennix said as she ran up to Light's side. "We just helped him. We totally didn't cheat! Besides, I used the Solarbeam. Light never told me to do anything."

"Hmph. Do you really expect me to believe that? When you guys have a Psychic in your group? And probably multiple other forms of telepathy beside the point?"

Light stepped forward. "Your right, I gave the command to do it."

Tapu Koko nodded. "Good, you fessed up. Fine, you pass."

"What?!" Light and Fennix both asked at the same time.

Light continued. "But I lost."

"Are you two of one mind or something?" Tapu Koko groaned. "Anyways, let me remind you that I value combat over all else. And one part of conflict is the tactics that you use. In that, I can't argue against you, as that was an effective tactic. Besides, I was never expecting you to win. You are a mere human while I am a Legendary Pokémon. Still, I must admit, I'm impressed. I wasn't expecting such a fight from you. Your kind used to always stay back behind their Pokémon shields and let them fight for you."

"We…did?" Light asked, mostly to himself.

Fennix, however, stomped her paw. "Humans aren't always like that!"

Tapu Koko glared at her. "And how many humans have you met? Aside from the one standing next to you? For many humans, Pokémon were no more than the tools of which they use to give themselves superiority. If they wanted to fight, it was always the Pokémon they hurt, not themselves. For many a time, this was how it was to be."

Light felt each word hit his heart like daggers being thrown directly at him. He nearly stood back and fell to the ground from the stinging words. However, before he could collapse, Mawile stepped forward.

"However, that isn't the entire story, is it? After all, as an archaeologist, I've done my own research on human/Pokémon interactions in the past. And while there is much that has been lost to history, I do know one thing. Humans didn't merely step back and let their Pokémon do all the work. They were constantly paying attention to the battle and giving out commands when the situation called for it. And isn't that something you also value? The tactics used in combat?"

Tapu Koko let out a sly smile. "Indeed. Once upon a time, I had a very low opinion of humans. I did not care for them and found their decision to use Pokémon to fight for the abhorrent. However, a crisis once hit the island I was the protector of, thousands of thousands of years ago, before humans began creating trials to gain further strength and self-insight. A crisis in the form of a creature that simply did not belong in this world. I strove to protect the Pokémon from this crisis, but was beaten, as my opponent was simply too power. But a human found me and patched me up. He asked to fight with me in hopes of defeating my opponent. I accepted, having been brought to nothing by my opponent anyways and having nothing to lose. By listening to that human, we were able to defeat the creature.

"From that day on, I watched over the humans of this world. And I found those that, like the human who helped me, were able to draw out the full strength of their Pokémon through the tactics that they use. One day, a human was so adept at this that I challenged them to a battle. And it was one of the best battles I ever had."

Tapu Koko turned his attention to Light. "So, remember that, human. Do not let pride or your desire to prove yourself get in the way of things. Regardless of how weak you are, you make powerful allies. That is the true nature behind the power I intend to give you."

Light paused for a moment before nodding. "I understand. Thank you. Then you will give us that power?"

Tapu Koko nodded. "Yes, I will. The power you are looking for is in the next room. Go and claim it. And when you encounter Dark Matter's minions, give them hell for all of us Tapu."

"We will, thank you," Light bowed.

After Tapu Koko said that, Light noticed a bright light that flashed on the other side of the cavern. The five Pokémon all gave each other quick glances, knowing very well what that meant. With their pathway open and the trial cleared, the crew waved their goodbyes to the Tapu before they all walked into the light.

* * *

 **AN:** I've mentioned this before, but I love world building. And I love doing it in unique ways, too. Most of the time, people who add Alolan stuff to the main PMD mythos tend to put them on either a separate continent or a separate area (no offence, Ambyssin, you're story's just fine). And here I am, taking an already established location and giving it a connection with a Legendary Pokemon. Granted, that's irrelevant to this chapter, but still.

We also get a bit of a greater idea of the human/Pokemon divide in the ancient past. History is always interesting to write as you have to balance giving hints and ideas without outright telling people everything, as history itself is never as clear as we want it to be. But I imagine most of you can get the idea.

Special thanks to TheGoldCrow for beta reading.


	10. Echo

Another walk through the light sent them into a similar white antechamber to the one after the first trial. It even had the Entercard and the tablet in the same spot. The only initial different Lilac could see was that the card in front of them was depicted with the picture of a star instead of a sun. Though, she imagined that the tablet would also hold differences within it, but as she couldn't read the text, she wouldn't know. Which reminded her…

As Fennix walked up to the tablet, Lilac herself also looked over it. She saw many different footprint runes, but no matter how much she tried, she couldn't give much more than a wild guess as to what was written on it.

Eventually, Fennix began reading the text.

"'As we traveled with Light, there was one issue that came up occasionally. One I wasn't aware of before. I never did understand what differentiated humans from Pokémon for most of my life until I started traveling with Light. After all, Pokémon come in many different shapes and sizes. However, upon traveling with Light, there became one issue. Humans…unfortunately couldn't fight like us Pokémon."

Fennix took a glanced back at Lilac before continuing.

"'Light had with him an overly large knife he called a 'sword,' but it was about as effective as any other knives in this world.'"

"About as…what?" Light asked, interrupting Fennix. He thought to all the sharp knives within Carracosta's house, and how deadly they looked. "Wouldn't getting slashed by one of those knives hurt?"

"Not…really," Fennix answered. "A Scratch attack hurts worse. They're only good for cutting fruit, not Pokémon. You didn't know? I've accidently nicked myself with knives all the time."

Light felt his face heat up slightly. "I…think they might've been more effective against humans or something, I don't know. But I guess that answers my question. Running around with a large knife probably wouldn't do much."

With that knowledge given to Light, Fennix turned back to read the tablet.

"'And with the only other options being punches and kicks with very little power behind them, Light couldn't really help in combat. His greatest strength was quick thinking and planning, not combat. Still his support was helpful, and we eventually learned that Tapu Koko could give him even greater power. So we set off to the Fiery Basin to learn it.'"

"'Unfortunately, upon reaching the end of the dungeon and meeting Tapu Koko, he challenged Light and specifically Light to a fight. A human against a Legendary Pokémon? We all knew that the matchup was unfair. However, Light stepped forward to meet Tapu Koko in combat regardless. I sometimes wonder whether it was the comments of some in our group about his uselessness that prompted him to do so. Or maybe it was the conversation I had with Clover that he overheard. But regardless, Light fought as hard as he could, using his quick thinking to help him and, while he wasn't able to pull out a win against Tapu Koko, he did impress the Legendary Pokémon and got the item. And with that item, Light began falling under his role of supporting us in combat. Without his support, I can't imagine we would have gotten so far.'"

Fennix paused for a moment before looking back at everyone. "That's it. That's everything that was written on the tablet."

Everyone once again turned their attention back towards Lilac. She felt their eyes bore into her expectantly, making her almost feel embarrassed. Especially since…

"Nothing to report here. I didn't recognize anything here and nothing felt familiar."

"Really?" Light asked, just to make sure.

Lilac nodded once again. In a way, it was a strange breath of relief for her. It felt awkward, accidently guessing what Puriah put on the tablet before she did so. Still, it did make her wonder if that was a random fluke, a coincidence, or if it was something else. But as of right now, it was clear that this tablet didn't give her the same feeling.

"That's…good, I guess." Light rubbed the back of his head as he spoke, and while he tried to smile, Lilac could sense a conflict of emotions coming from him. Mostly foolishness.

"What's up?" Lilac asked him directly.

Light paused for a moment. "I…kinda came up with a few ideas on why that happened to you last time. And I was going to tell you about them later. But if it's just a coincidence…and it's kinda…"

Lilac understood what Light was trying to say without him getting it out. It was something he thought might be personal to her. "I understand. We'll talk about it alone after we're done here."

"For now, we should get out of here." Mawile walked over to the Entercard and grabbed it. Once again, the light behind them dissipated, showing the center chamber just a few short yards away from them.

"Interesting how the Entercard can do all that," Lilac mused. "It's hard to tell how large that dungeon was, but even Tapu Koko's room was longer than that passageway. Let alone the entire dungeon. Miles and miles of dungeon compressed to a couple of yards…that's so powerful."

Mawile walked to Lilac's side and gazed at the passageway herself. "Entercards, at least how the two dungeon researchers used them, were actually used to do the opposite. They allowed the researchers to create a dungeon to cross long gaps in a short amount of time. It even allowed them to go to dungeons that were normally blocked off. This is the opposite effect, though, to create a larger dungeon in a short space."

Lilac looked up to Mawile. "But that is possible, right?"

Mawile just shrugged. "To be honest, my knowledge on manipulating the ley lines to create dungeons is…lacking. I've vaguely heard that it's a dangerous art, and I know that Espeon and Umbreon use Entercards to accomplish it, but the finer mechanics are lost to me. That's why we're sending Archen to the Mist Continent to meet with them, so we can learn more about it."

"Speaking of which…" Ampharos joined them as well, Light and Fennix right behind him. "Mawile, we should check up with Archen and see if he's reached them by now."

Mawile glanced at Ampharos before moving her eyes to the three children. "…Indeed. Light, Fennix, Espurr. Ampharos and I will be gone for a bit. If you finish up whatever conversation you may have before we get done, you three are free to take on the next trial. However, be wary while doing so."

Lilac paused for a moment, realizing exactly what Ampharos and Mawile were doing for her. While she didn't say anything, she gave the two a curious smile and a nod to express her thanks. _Ampharos, Mawile, while working with you I continue to see why Fennix respects you so much,_ she thought.

With that, Ampharos and Mawile left into the darkness towards the entrance of the tomb. Once they left, Light, Fennix, and Lilac all walked to the center of the room and sat down next to each other. There, Lilac focused her attention on Light.

"So, you said you have an idea of what's happening?" Lilac asked.

"You really want to know?" Light asked. Lilac nodded, so Light continued. "It might not be anything, to be honest. But when thinking about things, I noticed something about the specific phrase you stated that last time. When you talked about Puriah's loneness. It felt like something you might say."

Lilac mused on that for a few seconds. "In all honesty, you are right about that. Though I wasn't as terrible at getting along with my fellow classmates as Fennix was…"

"Hey!" Fennix interrupted.

Though Lilac continued as if she didn't interrupt, "…I was never truly that close to any of them. Not in the same way I am with you guys, anyways."

Light nodded. "I remember that one time, when you were hanging out with Deerling. You two didn't seem like you really had much to talk about during that time."

"Honestly, Deerling only came to me to hang out because Pancham teased her about hanging out with Goomy all the time," Lilac shrugged. "Most of the time we spent 'hanging out' was me telling her to just ignore him and hang out with whoever she wants to. We didn't really do much together, nor do we have much in common."

"Anyways," Light mumbled, his nervousness coming back. "It might just be a guess, but I think the reason you managed to translate that specific part is because you were thinking of it ahead of time. Like, you were emphasizing with Puriah, based on all you knew about her, and managed to guess what was written."

"Hmm…" Lilac looked to the floor for a few seconds to contemplate the idea. "It's certainly a possibility. However, I think it's a bit more than that."

Lilac looked back up. "I do emphasize with Puriah a lot. I felt a connection with her when the first tablet was read. We have many similarities to each other. And I've almost felt like I could feel her emotions in the walls. Perhaps that wasn't as metaphorical as I thought. Puriah probably would've been a delphox, a psychic, as she was building this place. Perhaps, intentionally or otherwise, she left a psychic echo of her emotions in the foundations of this place, and I've been picking up on that since we got here due to my empathy. I thought those were just myths, but if that's true, then that would explain why I knew what was on the tablet, since I just sensed it."

"'Psychic…echo?'" Light asked.

"Oh yeah, I suppose neither of you would know." Lilac smiled widely at the thought of explaining something new. "Psychic-types draw their power from the mind. They then use that power for whatever purpose they want it to do. Whether it be to communicate to other minds, to form into an attack, or to lift objects, all of that comes from our own minds. I'm sure you're familiar with that much at least considering…"

"You got sick because if it," Fennix finished for her. "Since you couldn't let that energy out."

Lilac nodded before quickly continuing. "Because of that, our powers are effected by our emotions. The stronger the emotion, the more powerful the effect. Some might be obvious, if we're scared or sick our powers are weaker whereas if we're determined our powers are stronger. But it's believed that, if we're feeling a very powerful emotion while telekinetically working with an object, it's very possible we leave a trace of that emotion in that object. That is known as a 'Psychic Echo'."

"And this psychic echo thing is what caused you to figure out what was written on the tablet?" Light asked.

Fennix tilted her head. "But I haven't sensed anything!"

Lilac decided to avoid the obvious statement that the fennekin was not a Psychic-type, nor would she be unless she evolved. "If the rumors are true, it's not easily detectable. Even I'm not one hundred percent sure that's what I'm sensing. I imagine the only reason I'm noticing anything is because of that link. Because I feel the same way as her."

"Of course, you could be wrong," Light pointed out.

Lilac nodded. "True. There's been no concrete proof that such a thing exists. Just rumors and speculation. I'm not even sure what the logistics of it are. Especially since it's been thousands of years. But if we learn that to be true, and this place is the proof, then that's rather interesting."

"But that's cool!" Fennix cheered with a spring in her step. "You're able to figure out what Puriah is thinking! That's amazing! Plus, that'll be really great going further!"

"I…suppose. Though it seems to be inconsistent at times, unfortunately." Lilac looked at Light. "But I am interested in going further and finding out more about her. Through that I've learned a lot about you two and..." Lilac stopped before she said 'myself.' "F-for example, you Light. Do you remember when you told me that I could be useful, even when not in battle?"

Light nodded. "Yeah, I do. That's why you chose to be the Expedition Society's navigator."

"I now understand why you said that, since you were the same way. You couldn't really fight as a human, so you had to make yourself useful in other ways. Going through this place, I see that now. You must've been thinking about that when you told that to me."

Light blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, I don't really have any memories of the past, but maybe I was subconsciously, or something. I don't know. But yeah, I meant what I said back then. Your navigation is always helpful. Like in the last fight, your warnings for where Tapu Koko's attacks would come really helped out a lot."

"Yeah, you're great!" Fennix added. "I hope, when I get better with my psychic abilities, I can do amazing things like that too!"

Lilac bowed. "Thanks, you guys. I hope I can continue to be helpful."

 _The Chief was right,_ Lilac breathed. _Light and Fennix still value me, even as a navigator. Still…I just can't help this itch. Even knowing that, even having them assure me that, I still wish I could do more for them. Maybe Mawile's right, maybe I'm just genetically geared to want to fight with them. Still, at least for now, I should take heart in knowing that I have some value. And perhaps I'll find a way to synergize with them better in the next area._

Lilac's thoughts came at a good time, as with the silence in the room lasting for a few seconds, Light asked, "So, shall we head off to the next trial? Or is there something else you wanted to talk about while we're here?"

Lilac shook her head. "Nope, I'm good."

Fennix bounced energetically. "Great, let's go! We're halfway there, guys!

Lilac smiled warmly at Fennix's unwavering energy. With that, Light nodded to the group before turning around to go through the next door. Fennix and Lilac followed closely behind him as they all walked through the closest door on the right side of the room, the one with the constellation of Clover. There, the bright light enveloped them once again, taking them into the next trial.

* * *

 **AN:** This is where I'd put my next apologies for being late with this again, but instead, I'll just promise to be submitting chapters a lot more frequently. You see, myself and my beta reader/DM have both been really busy over the past...year (geez, that's way too long). But I've decided, since I'm a lot less busy, to just start submitting these anyways. So these are rough and with only my own editing, not my beta readers. Once he has the time and looks through these, I will do some heavy editing, but until then I decided not to keep you guys waiting on this any longer.


	11. Poisoned Mind

Something went horribly, terribly wrong. Upon the light dissipating, those were the first words that Lilac thought. What or how went wrong, she wasn't sure, but she knew something _must_ have went wrong.

Because she was completely alone.

The first sensation Lilac has upon the light dissipating was a complete lack of heat. It was getting close to winter in the Water Continent, so she was already somewhat used to the chill, and the tomb itself was rather cold, but this went beyond either of those two. Lilac immediately crossed her arms and shivered, and she could even see her breath.

She noticed the lack of her friends quickly afterwards. Light was ahead of her and Fennix was to her left side, so upon being able to see again, she should have saw Light's yellow fur at least. But no, instead all she saw was a dull, gray, lifeless landscape lined with dead trees that went on beyond the far horizon. And to her left, there was no sign of Fennix either. She was all alone.

"Light?!" Lilac called out as she looked around. "Fennix?! Where are you guys?!" Her voice echoed across the land, but she got nothing in response.

As she searched through the land, Lilac noticed some disturbing things. Along with the gray and barren fields of dead grass, there were several shallow pools lining around the area. Lilac just through they were pools of regular water and ignored them at first, but she eventually noticed something odd about the closest one. And, upon walking up to it to inspect the pool, she saw that the liquid inside it was both a dark shade of purple and was bubbling for whatever reason.

"Are these…pools of poison?" Lilac asked herself. "Is this place a poison bog or something?"

Lilac looked through the bog again and noticed several pools of various sizes across the horizon. She also noticed that the skies were tinted purple. And, as she continued to breath, she eventually felt something caught in her throat. She started coughing and she soon figured out why. The pools of poison were sending noxious gas into the air.

"Th-this is bad," Lilac coughed. "There's poison in the air as well."

 _Okay, first things first, stop talking,_ Lilac went to her thoughts. _But this is bad. I seem to be able to breathe somewhat, but the air itself isn't clear. I hope this doesn't cause any permanent harm._

Lilac looked forward. _Alright, second things second, I need to find Light and Fennix. Light especially, since he might have an idea of where we are and what we're doing. It's odd, though. We all stepped in together. How did we get separated from each other, so far as well? The last dungeon we got separated, but we were still around the same area at first. This time, they're nowhere to be seen._ Lilac thought about it for a moment, but eventually shook her head. _Never mind that, for now. Even if they can't be seen…_ Lilac closed her eyes, _I can still sense them. Now, let's see where they are._

However, as Lilac telepathically scanned across the area, she found a rather startling development. She could not sense a single soul outside of herself. No matter how far she looked, how hard she tried, Lilac couldn't sense either Light or Fennix anywhere in the bog. And. as she fruitlessly searched, she started to feel a tinge of fear run down her spine.

 _H-how is this possible? I should be able to sense Light and Fennix easily. There's no way this illusion could have taken them outside of my range. There's not enough room in this tomb for it to be able to do so. So how am I not sensing them? The only way I couldn't is if they're…_

Lilac opened her eyes to see the poisonous bog ahead of her and a chilling thought came to her mind. _N-no, don't think things like that! I-it's probably just part of Puriah's test, or something. I'm sure I can find them if I just keep going._

With that shaky resolve, Lilac decided to head further into the bog in hopes that she might find her two friends at some point in time. _I don't think I should have any worry about any battles, at least,_ Lilac tried to pump herself up. _Poison is probably the dominant type here. That should be easy for me. And I've explored on my own before._

" _Looking for something?"_

Lilac snapped into a battle stance immediately, her eyes darting around to find where the voice came from. "Who's there?!"

" _Oh, don't worry. I have no plans on fighting you. I can't say the same for certain…shall we say 'friends' of mine, but I myself will not harm a lock of fur from me."_

"I'm so glad," Lilac snarked. She kept her battle stance ready, though. "Then what do you want?"

" _I'm waiting for you to join us."_

"What?" Lilac paused for a moment to take in the absurdity of the statement. "What?"

" _Continue onward. You'll figure things out on your way through our bog. After all, you want to meet up with your… 'friends', don't you?"_

Lilac glanced further on into the area. She knew that whatever the malevolent voice wanted, it wasn't good. It was clear that the voice was trying to lead her into some sort of trap. And the tainted air surrounding the place was a hazard that she guessed would be detrimental eventually. However, she also didn't have many options. She knew nothing of the trial she was in, had no idea where she was or where she could go, she wasn't even sure leaving the trial was possible considering the lack of bright light that indicated traveling between the tomb and the trial.

 _I guess I don't have much of a choice,_ Lilac thought. _I suppose I'll just hope that, wherever this voice is leading me, it'll lead Light and Fennix as well. At least that way we can join together against whatever this thing is._

However, Lilac was not interested in giving the voice the satisfaction of her agreeing to it, and instead wordlessly continued further into the bog. To her relief, she was still able to breathe just fine despite the poisonous air. She felt a little stiffness in her limbs, whether because of the cold or the poison she wasn't sure, but she knew she could still fight if need be. So she kept a decent pace.

" _Eager to join us, I see."_

"I'm not here for you," Lilac dismissed quickly.

" _I'm very much aware of that. No, you're here for those so-called friends of yours, aren't you?"_

"So-called?" Lilac repeated. "Light and Fennix are my friends. They have admitted so themselves." Lilac smiled. "So if you're trying to break my moral, you might want to find something else to do."

" _They're such good friends? Interesting. Then why are you always so willing to prove yourself?"_

Lilac paused for a moment, but didn't stay for too long, continuing her walk without addressing the voice.

" _Don't think I didn't notice that. You paused for a moment. My words are true, aren't they?"_

Lilac shook her head. "Light already told me. He doesn't mind that I help through support. Both he and Fennix consider it helpful. So try something else."

" _But that's not enough for you, is it? It's never enough. Because you don't just want their respect or friendship. You want a close and powerful bond with those two. You desire something akin to their relationship with each other. You are desperate for it. But you know you can't get it. Light and Fennix mean the world to each other, and you are nothing but the little girl in the shadows. You know this. So you are desperate to prove yourself to them more and more, only to find yourself falling short at every point. In all honestly, I pity you."_

"I didn't ask for your pity, nor do I need it," Lilac snapped. She realized after saying those words that the voice was starting to get to her, so she tried to calm herself down. "You're right. I know my relationship with them is nowhere near what I want it. And I know…I can never get as close to them as they are to each other. But I've accepted that."

The malevolent voice chuckled. " _You are a terrible liar. You haven't accepted a thing. You know this. But lucky you, I have a solution for you."_

"You…" Lilac stopped herself before she finished that statement. _No, it doesn't. Don't let it convince you of anything!_

" _Yes, I do."_ Pale lights began floating around Lilac in a circular pattern. " _I told you before. All you need to do is join us. Let yourself fade away and become a spirit. Once you become a spirit, you won't have to worry about any of that anymore. All your pain will float away."_

"No way!" Lilac answered without hesitation. "If you think I'm going to throw away my life like this, then you're mad!"

The several pale lights all formed and transformed into twelve Pokémon: three haunter ahead of her, three misdreavus to her right, three shuppet to her left, and three phantump behind her. Lilac felt her nerves tense up, as she was both outnumbered and at a severe disadvantage. However, she still stood her ground, looking around as she thought of a way to get out of the situation.

"What happened to not attacking me?" she asked, hoping that the conversation could buy her time to make a strategy.

" _I told you that I wouldn't. But I also warned you that my 'friends' won't be so lenient. You see, they're desperate, just like you. Only their desperation is for you to join us. And I do apologize, but I can't stop them. You should have just accepted my proposal immediately. It would have been a lot more…pleasant."_

"Unfortunately, I'm going to have to decline your request even now," Lilac said, her plan fully formed. "I have some friends to meet up with, and I'd rather not be late. Besides, threats don't work on me."

Lilac focused her Psychic attack in front of her, blasting the three haunter out of her way. All the other ghosts shot a Shadow Ball at her at the same time, but she was able to rush on ahead before the attack hit her. The enemies continued to try and attack her with Shadow Balls, but Lilac was able to dodge away from them and get out of the ghosts' range.

" _Not bad, not bad. I'll admit, I wasn't expecting you to get out of that, like that. A pointless endeavor, but it's at least entertaining. I recommend you stop struggling, though. You're only making things harder on yourself."_

"I told you, I have friends to meet," Lilac dismissed.

" _And what makes you so sure that your friends haven't already joined us?"_

Lilac nearly tripped at those words. However, she soon shook her head and discarded the idea. There was no reason to assume that the voice wasn't lying to her, so she didn't even want to give the voice the satisfaction of even the debate.

" _Oh, don't pretend you've never thought of it. Ask yourself this question. You are a Psychic with powerful telepathic abilities. You should be able to sense them so long as they're around. So tell me: why you can't sense them? Unless, of course, they're already mine."_

Lilac continued to ignore the voice and kept trudging on. She was beset by two sableye in the meantime, who both slashed at her with Shadow Claws. But, since Lilac saw them quickly enough, she was able to give a loud shriek that sent purple sound waves at the sableye. The Disarming Voice attack managed to knock the two away before their attack could get off, allowing her to run away from them.

" _Still content to ignore me, are you? Very well. Continue on pointlessly, trying to find friends who aren't there. You'll wear yourself eventually and become one of ours. Whether it be through my 'friends' constant assault, through the poisonous air, or by your own will being broken, you will join us eventually. And I'm a very patient Pokémon. You're only hurting yourself by continuing onward."_

"M-my friends would never give up, so I won't either!" Lilac eventually let slip. She immediately regretted stating that.

" _Ah, we're on speaking terms again, are we? I thought you weren't planning on giving me the satisfaction of debate."_

"WHAT?!" Lilac stopped for a moment out of shock. And the moment she stopped, a misdreavus appeared behind her and managed to hit her with a Shadow Ball. Lilac cried out as she was sent forward from the blast before impacting the ground and scrapping across it for a second.

" _Really now, did you think I wasn't in your mind? Come now, you should be smarter than that. And more perceptive. How else do I know all of your fears and doubts?"_

"Urrg," Lilac groaned as she got off the ground and turned around to face the misdreavus. Lilac was cornered, and she knew it. She didn't sense the voice digging through her mind, so she didn't give it much thought, but after thinking about it logically, of course it was telepathicallycommunicating with her. Which meant it had access to her deepest thoughts, and there was very little she could do about it.

" _Now, back to your statement. Your friends won't give up, will they? Interesting. So the fennekin who's deathly afraid of ghosts isn't going to give up when surrounded by them? And your friend, Light, who has so many doubts about himself isn't going to want to let all those doubts melt away? What makes you so certain that they both haven't already joined us?"_

"Because my friends are stronger than that!" Lilac yelled before she blasted the misdreavus back with a Psychic.

" _Your doubts to the validity of your own words is almost palpable. But fine, believe what you want. It won't matter in the end."_

Lilac paused for a moment. " _I can't let this voice get to me. No matter what, I need to stay calm and keep going."_

However, as she walked further on, she was feeling lethargy start to creep into her bones. The Shadow Ball already did a number on her, but the constant breathing in of the poisonous air because of her panting were surly not helping. Lilac knew all she needed to do was find Light, who had both Pecha and Oran berries in his bag, and she'd be fine. So, all she needed to do was hold out until then.

" _I meant what I said earlier about you being pitiable. Raised by two outlaws who focused on giving you the skills needed to survive before they ditched you to live on your own. Any love they ever gave you was a two-faced lie. Being surrounded by other children who you could never relate to due to being smarter than them. Being surrounded by adults who you could never relate to because they coddled you. The two Pokémon you meet who you can finally relate to both prefer each other. Why shouldn't they, when they've had an entire past life together? Your isolation made you strong on your own, but also made it difficult for you to work with others on the same level as you've seen those two work. It's as if you were destined, from the moment of birth, to be alone."_

Lilac panted as the worlds the voice kept saying stung her like a thousand needles. She felt her heart throb as the voice kept picking at her insecurities one by one. Poking at her ultimate fear of her friends eventually moving away from her, leaving her all alone again.

Because of her being caught in her own thoughts, Lilac didn't notice a small twig sticking out of the ground that she caught her paw and tripped her. That twig continued to wrap itself around her paw, trapping her. Lilac managed to twist herself around to see the twig and recognized the green glow that surrounded it.

"Grass knot," she whispered. She than looked up and saw three phantump floating towards her, likely the same three that first attacked her.

" _Friendship is a temporary, fleeting thing. But look at us. We work together with no thoughts of our standings, no mind to our pasts, no relationship is closer or farther away. Just accept this and melt away. Join your friends and you will be together with them forever. Why do you continue to fight against this? Isn't this what you want?"_

" _What…I want?"_ Lilac asked herself. She lifted a shaky paw up to try and blast the phantump away, but she couldn't feel the power needed to do much of anything. " _Do I…really want this? N-no, I don't. I won't. I can't. But if that's true, then why can't I…fight anymore?"_

A Shadow Ball hit her square in the chest, forcing her to squint her eyes. She was stuck, she could hardly struggle, and she felt her energy draining away from her. She wanted to be defiant, but she couldn't find the strength anymore.

Before she completely blacked out, though, while her vision was turning dark, she saw a fenenkin standing in place of where the phantump were.

" _Have you really given up on your friends?"_ she could have sworn she heard the fennekin saying.

" _No, of course not,"_ Lilac telepathically responded. " _B-but, what can I do?"_

" _Call out to them, and they'll listen,"_ the fennekin responded. " _If you haven't given up on them, then you need nothing else but to ask for their assistance."_

" _L-Light…Fennix,"_ Lilac called with her telepathy, even if there was nobody around to listen. " _P-please, help!"_

Lilac felt herself slip further and further away, no longer having the strength to even stay awake. Before she fully succumbed, though, she felt a sudden burst of warmth pass from behind to in front of her and heard the sweetest and warmest voice she could possibly hear.

"G-get away from my friend, you stupid scary jerks!"


	12. A Shadow

The warmth that surrounded Lilac never left, even as she slowly drifted off. She felt that warmth carry her away for a while before it gently set her down. The warmth also placed something in her mouth. Whatever was placed in her mouth soon sent bounds of energy throughout her body, allowing her to wrestle herself back into consciousness. When Lilac woke up, she realized she was placed against a dead tree. In front of her, looking between her and the distance with a worried expression, was Fennix.

"Fennix?" Lilac asked.

Lilac's voice allowed Fennix to realize she was awake, turning her attention instantly. When Fennix saw Lilac awake, she instantly buried her face in Lilac's chest. Lilac heard a constant stream of sniffles and felt tears dampen her fur and Fennix pressed herself as close as possible, ignoring all standards of personal space.

"Fennix?" Lilac asked again.

"Ooo, Lilac, I was so worried!" Fennix cried. "This place is scary, it's filled with so many ghosts, this weird scary voice keeps talking to me, telling me stupid scary lies, telling me that you guys abandoned me, I can't find Light, I couldn't find you, more and more ghosts keep appearing and attacking me, they were hurting you, I thought you were d-d-d-d-d-d… and if you were, I don't know what I would do, I don't want to lose one of my best friends!"

Lilac paused for a moment at hearing Fennix's whimpering. She could tell that Fennix was scared to death. Despite her fear, though, she still helped Lilac out without any other thought. Lilac was still alive thanks to her. And here Fennix was, looking towards her for comfort and strength. Calling Lilac one of her best friends. While the stinging fact that Fennix would be doing the same if she found Light was still present in Lilac's heart, seeing how close Fennix was helped lift her up a little.

"It's…all right, Fennix," Lilac said. "We're…together now. We're fine."

Fennix took a few steps back and sniffled a little. She walked over to a small bag that was laying on the ground that Lilac recognized as Light's bag. Fennix reached into the bag, grabbed out a Pecha Berry, and placed the pink berry on Lilac's lap.

"Here, eat up. It'll help with the poisonous air."

"Thanks." Lilac quickly gulped down the berry and she felt herself able to breathe easier immediately. When she was able to, she asked, "But if you have Light's bag, then where is he?"

Fennix shook her head before pointing her snout to the ground. "I don't know. I couldn't find him. All I found was his bag lying on the floor."

Lilac wasn't entirely sure if Fennix was worried about the same thing she was, but she decided to stamp out any doubts before they came in. "Light is stronger than that. He wouldn't give into the voice, just like we didn't!"

Fennix looked back up and smiled. "Y-yeah, you're right! Light's better than that! He's probably out there kicking scary ghost butts and is looking for us too! W-we should probably look for him too."

Lilac got up and walked over to Light's bag, picking it up and wrapping it over her shoulder. "Fennix, I tried telepathically calling out to earlier. Did you hear me?"

"N-no, but something told me where you would be," Fennix said. "M-maybe Light'll be the same?"

" _I personally doubt it."_

For a moment, Lilac had almost forgot about the malevolent voice. When Fennix hear it, she glanced around with a nervous expression. Lilac wasn't pleased to hear it once again, however this time, she was furious. However, with Fennix here, she was able to keep herself calm enough to reasonably talk to it.

"Hey voice. What happened to you already having Light and Fennix?" Lilac asked calmly with a confident smirk on her face. "Despite her 'having already joined you' she seems very much alive and well."

" _I never told you that they did. I just asked you what made you so sure they didn't. I may have implied it, but I never outright stated anything. If you interpreted that as them having joined us, that's your fault."_

"Your nothing but a big, fat liar!" Fennix yelled. "So shut up! We're going to find Light whether you want us to or not! And that will show you!"

" _I really don't need to prove myself to a bunch of children. However, I'm feeling nice today."_

"I personally doubt it," Fennix snarked in her best impression of the voice, which brought a smile to Lilac's face.

The voice continued as if it wasn't interrupted. " _If you keep going the direction your facing, you'll find a small stone building from the old times. Come on in and then we'll see how strong your resolve remains. You might even find your 'friend' there. Or you can decide not to go. Your resources will dry eventually._ "

The voice was silent for a few seconds. At the voice's silence, Lilac and Fennix both faced each other. Clear on their faces was the question of whether they wanted to follow the voice's 'advice' or not.

"I think we should ignore it," Fennix bluntly stated.

"I've thought about that too…but I think we should follow it." Lilac glanced in the direction they were told to go. "To be blunt, we're lost. We have no idea where this bog leads or what's here. If the voice is leading us somewhere, at least it's some direction as to where to go."

Fennix took a step back, her eyes wide and snout open. "B-but it's…!"

Lilac calmly nodded. "A trap, no doubt about it. I don't trust that voice farther than I can throw it. But we don't have anywhere else to go. Nor do we really know what this trial entails. If we don't go somewhere, we might end up running out of resources. At the same time, though, I think the voice is worried."

"'Worried?'" Fennix repeated.

"We're together, so we're going to be much harder to break and much stronger in combat. The voice knows this. It hasn't even bothered sending ghosts at us for a while now, and this is the first time it's tried talking to us. Therefore, it's obviously planning something desperate. We might find the owner of the voice if we head that direction. And if it is a trap?" Lilac stretched her arms out wide, feeling the psychic energy flow through her body. When she was done, she gave Fennix a determined look. "We'll just deal with it."

Fennix examined Lilac for a few seconds before a smile crept on her face. "Yeah, that's right! Some creepy voice isn't going to stop us! And maybe we'll find Light on the way! He'd probably go after the first landmark he sees!"

Lilac wasn't as sure about that as Fennix, but she decided to keep it off for now. "I'll keep trying to telepathically communicate with him, like I did with you. Hopefully we can join up with him before entering the ruin."

"Alright, let's go!" Fennix quickly turned and walked confidently in the direction the voice led them in.

Lilac nodded before following quickly at Fennix's side. She kept a vigilant eye around the area, calmly examining for any sign of enemies. As they were walking, and with no signs of enemies as Lilac expected, she thought about how calm and collected she was now, compared to how nervous and depressed she was earlier.

 _It's amazing, when I think about it,_ Lilac thought, her eyes instinctively turning to Fennix. _Just having Fennix here by my side has calmed me down considerably. Let me think much more clearly. I don't know whether it's just knowing she's alive and well or if it's her strength despite how scared she is, but I'm glad we're together again._

"You don't have to answer if you don't want, but what did the voice tell you?" Lilac asked as they walked. 

Fennix was silent for a few seconds. "It…wasn't fun."

"I can imagine. It wasn't fun listening to what it told me. Again, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"…Lilac, back when we were younger in Serene Village, did you think I was annoying like everyone else?" Fennix asked.

"…Honestly, in some ways, yes. You could be very overbearing back then. I was never as bothered with it as Pancham was, but I wasn't really interesting in spending too much time with you." However, Lilac quickly shook her head. "But you've changed a lot since then. You're a lot more willing to slow down and take the time to listen to other Pokémon. Your definitely not the same Pokémon you were back then."

"Thanks. That's…nice to hear." Fennix paused for a moment. "Also, do you think I…talk about myself being Mew a bit too much? Like, do you think I put too much stock in it?"

Lilac shrugged. "Honestly, it's like thinking of Light as a human. When I look at either of you, I only really see a fennekin and a pikachu. You do mention it a little much at times, but I guess I'm so used to your boasting that I don't think of it much. At the same time, though, even if you were born from Mew's spirit…"

"I'm still just a fennekin," Fennix finished for her. "I…know. I want Mew's legacy to live on in me. That's why I want to become Mew or be as close as I possibly can. B-but the voice kept telling me that I'm just doing it because I want to be someone special. And that I'll just end up causing trouble for you and Light all over again. That I'm nothing special and you guys only put up with me."

"So…that's what it said," Lilac mumbled under the breath. A bit louder, so Fennix could hear, Lilac said, "I wouldn't worry about it, Fennix. As I said before, I don't think of you as Mew much. Whether you're Mew or Fennix, you're my good friend, okay? As for living Mew's legacy, I don't think you really need to worry about that either. Just be yourself, and things will turn out fine."

Fennix smiled. "Thanks, Lilac. What'd the voice tell you?"

Lilac faced away from Fennix at the question. "…It told me that I was destined to be alone," she answered after a long pause.

"WHAT?!" Fennix's mouth hung open for a few seconds. "B-but, why would you think that?"

Lilac paused for a moment as she tried to think about how she wanted to explain herself. The guilt and the selfish feelings that prevented her from talking before surfaced once again and she had half a mind to just brush off her thoughts once again and tell Fennix that everything was fine, but she knew that wasn't possible anymore. If it was harming her this much, she knew she needed to tell her friends. However…

"I'll tell you later," Lilac promised. "I want both you and Light to hear this."

"Gotcha. I understand." Still, Fennix gave Lilac the largest smile she could. "But I don't think you'll be alone! You've got Light and me here with you, and we aren't going anywhere!"

Lilac took a deep breath. "I…know that. Mentally I tell myself that. But I still have my doubts. But let's save this for later. Again, I want to explain myself to both you and Light."

"Alright." Fennix accepted without another word, continuing forward with a contented look on her face.

 _That, and frankly, Light's the one I trust a bit more with listening and understanding me,_ Lilac thought. _No offence, Fennix. You have your own strengths._ _And I'm glad to have you as a friend._

It was a bit of an uneventful walk for the next few minutes until Lilac and Fennix finally reached the small stone ruin that the malevolent voice told them about. They couldn't find Light on the way, which did worry Lilac a little, but they kept going regardless in the hopes that they'd find him afterwards. Lilac also tried sensing the inside of the ruin, but found nothing, as usual.

The ruin was large, about ten times the size of the two Pokémon looking into it and was in the shape of a large cube. Covering various areas was a greenish moss, the only sign of life in an otherwise dead place. The ruin itself was old and decrepit; upon closer inspection Lilac noticed stones missing all around the front side to the roof of the building. Finally, there was an entrance that was half covered by rotted wood, and the other half didn't let enough light in for anyone to see anything inside of it.

"You ready?" Lilac asked as they investigated the entrance.

"J-just stay close to me, okay?" Fennix asked. Lilac could see her slightly quake.

"If it comes to a fight, I can't promise that, but I won't move too far away while we're walking in." Lilac looked in, mustering up all her courage as she could. "Let's go in."

The two Pokémon walked into the ruin, going one by one to avoid the wooden cover, and had to wait for a few moments for their eyes to adjust. While they were waiting, Lilac tried to look around in the areas she could see. The roof itself seemed to be around the same height as the outside of the ruin would suggest, and the left and right walls looked to be as well. So, from what she could see, the ruin had only one room.

However, her search through the room ended very quickly as her eyes adjusted enough to see the center room and she saw the first bit of color. Fennix soon saw the same sight, and upon seeing it her eyes widened and her mouth creased into a smile. Lilac, meanwhile, couldn't take the sight as anything more than a sign of apprehension. The sight was a pikachu with their back turned to the two of them. A pikachu wearing a significant green-striped scarf. A pikachu that was unmistakably Light.

"Light, you're here!" Fennix called as she rushed up to greet him. "Thank goodness you're here! Now we can finally get out of here!"

Lilac followed behind Fennix a lot more slowly and wearily, and her caution became more and more justified as she noticed significant details surrounding the pikachu. His fur lacked the vibrant shade of yellow it usually had, instead being much grayer, as if Light aged up several years. He also had a strange black ethereal glow surrounding him. Finally, Lilac noticed that she could just barely see the other side of the room through him, making him look transparent.

"W-who are you?" Lilac asked, her body tensing up as she got ready for a possible fight.

Fennix glanced back at Lilac. "What are you talking about? This is Light, remember? Did getting scared cause you to forget him?"

"Look closer for just a few seconds," Lilac warned.

Fennix faced back towards Light, getting a closer look at him. As soon as she saw what Lilac already noticed, Fennix took a few nervous steps back. "W-w-what?!"

Light eventually turned around, giving both Lilac and Fennix a calm and peaceful smile that was unnerving for how normal it looked. Aside from the transparency, there was nothing specific about Light's face that suggested anything was wrong. And that very thing sent a shiver down Lilac's side.

"Hello Lilac, Fennix," Light addressed them. "It's good to see you two finally made it."

It was certainly his voice coming out of his mouth, but Lilac couldn't help but feel like something was off about it. It has the same calmness his expression suggested it would, but it also lacked the warmth and care that Light's voice normally had. It almost seemed too impartial to the world around him.

"Who are you?" Likac asked once again.

Light tilted his head. "I know I look different, but I'm still Light. Of course I am. You guys haven't forgotten your best friend, have you?"

"W-what proof do you have that you are Light?" Lilac asked.

"Simple, we're within a dungeon created from an Entercard inside a tomb," Light explained. "We're on the job from the Expedition Society. Mawile and Ampharos are both outside right now, trying to communicate with some dungeon researchers. Is that enough for you?"

"W-what's going on here?" Lilac asked.

"It's simple. I joined the ghosts here."

"W-what?!" Fennix yelled. "N-no! Th-that's impossible!"

Light shook his head. "I'm sorry, Fennix. But I'm at peace now. All the pain I was holding, all my guilt, it's all finally gone. I feel so free now. You guys don't know how great it is to just let it all go." Light extended his right paw out towards his friends. "So please. Will you give in already and join us? The ghosts here will keep making it painful for you guys, if you don't. And I don't want you guys to get hurt anymore. I want you to be free."

"Y-you gave in?" Lilac asked. "H-how could you?"

Fennix responded, not with words, but with fire. She burst out a large Flamethrower in Light's direction, almost without hesitation. Lilac and Light both reacted in pure shock from the attack, Light just barely being able to dodge out of the way of the attack.

"Shut up, you stupid ghost thing!" Fennix yelled, her eyes filled with tears. "Light would never give up like that! Stop lying and give Light back!"

"Fennix, I understand how much you want to believe me, and I'm grateful for it," Light said. "But to be honest, I've been hiding a lot away from you. There's a lot I've never told you about."

Light stepped forward. "Like, honestly, I hate that I'm a human."

"What do you mean?" Lilac asked. Fennix tempered her fire for a while, and Lilac hoped she wouldn't attack rashly so quickly.

"Nothing much more than that. I hate being human. I hate having this past weighing me down. I've always wished I were nothing more than a Pokémon. Nothing more than your average pikachu. And now, I finally don't have to worry about it. I'm finally free."

Light extended his arm again, as he was within arm's length of Lilac. "Lilac, please. I know the pain you're going through now. You have so much pain in you. So please, join us and let all that pain just float away."

Two Psybeams came after Light, both knocking him back and away from Lilac. Lilac flinched as she saw the attacks hit him. She wanted to believe Fennix that whatever they were looking at was not Light. However, she sensed his pain the entire expedition. She knew that he was having problems with his memory, and she knew that he tried hiding something about the vision he had of Clover and Puriah. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, she knew that what Light said was the truth.

"Ow, Fennix," Light moaned. "That one…kinda hurt." Light quickly pulled himself back up off the ground. "Lilac, could you stop her for a bit? Fennix is so terrified she isn't in her right mind."

"Lilac, come on!" Fennix whined. "You can't let him get to you like that! This isn't Light!"

"H-how do you know?" Lilac asked.

"Come on, Lilac! I told you that you're our friend!" Fennix yelled. "Don't let that fake or whatever the voice said tell you otherwise! Lilac, you know Light! You know exactly why that thing is a fake!"

"I can't believe you'd say something like that to me," Light said, his voice still calm. "After all the times we were together, after everything I went through to bring you back after you disappeared, when I'm finally free this is how you react? But it's fine." Light smiled. "You're my friend, Fennix. So I still want you to join us. I want you to finally be free, just like I am. This way, we can both be together forever. We don't have to worry about losing each other ever again."

Fennix stomped a paw. "Don't you dare say something like that! Y-you're not Light! So don't you dare pretend you know what Light is feeling!"

 _Fennix believes completely that this Light is a fake,_ Lilac thought. _But how? Is it blind faith? Does she believe in Light that much? Or is it something else? Am I…that terrible of a friend that I haven't seen the signs?_

Lilac felt a sudden voice speak to her head. It was the same voice that she previously heard when she saw that fennekin. However, this time, she felt something else. There was something else about the voice that she couldn't quite put her paw on.

" _She is strong, but she is also wavering a bit. If she were completely sure, she wouldn't hesitate to attack. She has her reasons, but those reasons lack confidence behind them. A confidence you can give her, if only you see the signs too. You spend too much time comparing your relationship. How about instead, you create your own unique relationship with both of them? You have your chance, now carve your path."_

 _Carve…my path?_ Lilac glanced over and saw that Light was reaching his paw to Fennix this time. And it was at that time that she finally realized something. It was something she noticed before but didn't give much note. Light was reaching his right paw out. But that couldn't be.

Realization washed over Lilac, and after realization, anger. Her anger pulsed through her, sharpening her Psychic powers. She had a pure, righteous anger at whatever being was taking the visage of their friend to trick them.

"Fennix, Light prefers his left paw over his right, correct?" Lilac asked.

Fennix turned her gaze over towards Lilac. "Y-you see it too? D-does that mean?"

Lilac nodded. "You're right. This Light is a complete sham! I also noticed something else! Just give me a second."

Lilac pooled her Psychic energy together and easily blasted Light into the wall on the other side of the room with his Psychic power. "Yes, I was right," Lilac mused. "I thought your Psybeam looked like it did a lot more damage than it should have. And I was right. Which means he is weak to Psychic-type attacks. As you can imagine, even if we assume that he somehow gained a Ghost subtype after joining the ghosts, Light still wouldn't be weak to Psychic-type moves. Whoever this is, this is not Light."

Fennix smiled at Lilac before she faced Light once again, anger back on her face. "Give up you stupid ghost thing and give us our friend back!"

Light growled as he pulled himself off the ground. "I wish you guys didn't do that. I hoped you'd come in peacefully. But if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get."

"He isn't seriously keeping up this act, is he?" Fennix growled.

Lilac didn't take her eyes off him. "Keep on your guard."

Light rushed forward towards Lilac, his right paw wreathed in electricity. He was so fast that Lilac was only able to slightly tilt her head away before Light reached her, and therefore his attack hit her on the right side of her head instead of square on the forehead. Lilac clenched her right eye from the pain and the sparks passing across her head, but she didn't let the pain stop her. Instead, knowing full well that the fake was unlikely an Electric-type, Lilac charged electricity between her paws and shot a Charge Beam at Light. The fake was able to quickly dodge out of the way of the attack, though.

"A Charge Beam on me?" Light asked. "Really? Lilac, you're smarter than that. I don't want to fight you either, but if you really want this fight, you should give it your all."

"You can stop calling me Lilac, now," Lilac growled. "My family name is only to be used by those I'm close to. Not by whatever shadow creature you are."

Light shook his head and sighed. "Lilac, would you just liste-"

He couldn't finish that statement, however, as Fennix shot a series of Psybeam in his direction, hoping to hit him while he was busy talking. Despite her efforts, though, Light was able to dodge the series of attacks just fine with small, quick bursts of speed. Lilac found it frustrating that Light kept going how he did, but Fennix glanced at him with a smirk.

"If you were Light, you'd know how stupid it is to talk in the middle of a fight," Fennix smirked. Lilac decided not to tell her that she was also talking in the middle of a fight.

After speaking, Fennix shot off a Flamethrower at Light. Light was able to still dodge out of the way of the attack rather easily. This time, though, instead of trying to 'explain himself', he took Fennix's words to heart and rushed over towards her, paws glowing white. Thanks to his speed, Fennix wasn't able to do much more than gasp as he hit her with Brick Break. The attack sent Fennix sliding across the ground a few feet.

Fennix got back up with a grunt, a smirk still on her face. "Not pulling your punches, huh? What happened to 'not wanting to do this?'"

Despite Fennix's confident air surrounding her, Lilac could tell that the fake was putting power behind his punches. And his speed meant that most of their attacks have been missing and would probably keep missing if this kept up. Lilac knew that they needed to do something to even the speed gap, and fast. Fennix's Flame Charge could help if only she made the initial hit…

Lilac's eyes widened as she thought of something to do. Before either Light or Fennix could get off another attack, Lilac opened her mouth wide and let out a loud shriek that sent several blue shockwaves at Light. Light was charging up a Thunderpunch at the time, but once the Disarming Voice hit him, Light stopped what he was doing and covered his ears out of instinct.

" _Fennix, hit him with Flame Charge while he's distracted!"_ Lilac commanded Fennix telepathically.

Fennix complied immediately, rushing towards Light as flames swirled around her. The Flame Charge hit true, knocking Light back a fair bit while Fennix was able to move slightly faster. And, since Light was still dazed from both attacks, Fennix hit him with another Flame Charge to boost her speed even further. Light was finally able to attack after both of those assaults, but when he tried hitting her with a leaping Thunderpunch, Fennix masterfully dodged a few inches back from the attack, forcing Light's Thunderpunch to impact the ground instead. Fennix, naturally, had the world's largest grin on her face.

"Who's faster now, huh?" Fennix teased. Light tried to hit her with another Brick Break, but Fennix just ran behind him in a split-second. "You know, Light has this move he can use called Agility." Another Thunderpunch came at Fennix, but she dodged out of the way again. "He doesn't use it much at all, but the real Light would probably use it right now. So go ahead. Become faster than me again!"

Light pounded the ground with his right paw, his anger at his inability to hit Fennix reaching a breaking point. "That's it! I'm done with this stupid game!"

The Pokémon pretending to be Light melted into the shadows suddenly. Neither Lilac nor Fennix had anticipated that attack, so as such the Pokémon was able to uppercut Fennix at the bottom of her snout with a Shadow Sneak attack. This launched Fennix in the air, but she was able to regain enough control to land on her four paws.

"Heh, done pretending to be something you're not," Fennix snarked despite the impact.

The fake answered by sinking into the ground once again. This time, though, instead of using another Shadow Sneak, the fake came back out of the shadows in it's true form. The form of a wispy black, shadowy Pokémon.

"You're going to regret this," the shadowy Pokémon growled.

"You're a…Marshadow," Lilac breathed. Fennix walked to Lilac's side as they both examined the Pokémon.

Marshadow sighed. "I'd pretend to be surprised by you knowing what I am, but I got in your mind. I know that you're the insufferably smart type. Not that it really matters. I'm done playing this stupid game. I'm doing to do what I should have done in the first place."

Marshadow closed his eyes and brought his paws over his head. Between them formed a black sphere of energy, one different than a normal Shadow Ball. Lilac and Fennix both recognized the sphere of energy instantly, and Lilac felt her heart sink inside her chest as she saw it.

"Run!" Lilac yelled as both her and Fennix dodged out of the way of the attack.

"You're one of Dark Matter's minions?!" Fennix yelled.

"And you two will soon become more fuel to make us invincible," Marshadow responded, though his bored expression and dead tone suggested he didn't particularly care either way. "Now would you just go to the Voidlands already? I'm done with this."

" _Lilac, what do we do?"_ Fennix telepathically asked. " _One hit from that thing, and we're done!"_

" _Can you Solarbeam?"_ Lilac asked quickly, seeing Marshadow charging up another attack that could turn them to stone.

" _Yes, but…"_

" _Then dodge his next attack and start charging!"_ Lilac commanded before she dodged to her right and out of the way of the attack. When she looked back, she saw that Fennix had also successfully dodged and was beginning to charge up for the Solarbeam. Of course, this left her sitting and Marshadow exclusively chose her for his next attempt.

 _Big mistake,_ Lilac thought, a smile on her face as she prepped her psychic energy. Before the Marshadow could launch his stone attack onto Fennix, Lilac grabbed onto him with Psychic, pinning him to the ground.

"Urrg…grr…w-why can't I…move," Marshadow grunted.

"Typing 101," Lilac calmly answered as she kept her focus. "Your part Fighting, right? And I'm using a Psychic attack. Since you're weak to it, that means I can hold you down much better than I could other Pokémon. You can try and break out of it, sure. But I highly doubt you'll do that before my friend over there hits you with her strongest attack."

Fennix smiled as well. Fully charged, she opened her eyes and gave Marshadow a triumphant glance.

"This is for my friends, you jerk!" Fennix yelled before she fired off her Solarbeam attack, hitting Marshadow with all the power she's worth. The Marshadow was blown back because of it and sent crashing through the wall of the ruin, leaving a hole in his wake. Lilac had to admit that she was impressed by the sheer power of the attack.

"Let's go after him and get him to tell us where Light is," Lilac suggested.

Fennix nodded, so they both hopped through the hole in the wall Fennix's Solarbeam made and followed the trail of destruction for a few yards until they reached where the Marshadow was lying on the floor. Lilac got ready to hold him down once again, so he couldn't turn anyone to stone as they interrogated him. However, the same black mist that was used to turn Pokémon to stone was surrounding him. Lilac recognized that sight, having seen it during the encounter she had with Dark Matter's minions in the real world.

"Where is Light?!" Fennix demanded from him before whatever happened to him happened.

"Heh…don't worry about that stupid rat," Marshadow groaned. "He's fine. I just trapped him in my shadow, so I could take his form. He'll be released once Dark Matter turns me to stone for failing him."

"You don't sound too bummed about that," Lilac pointed out.

"Heh, I stopped caring a long time ago." Marshadow focused his gaze on Lilac. "I meant what I said earlier, you know. I do pity you. You remind me of myself."

"Lilac is nothing like you!" Fennix yelled.

However, Lilac herself was much calmer. "What do you mean?"

"We're both shadows," Marshadow answered. "Be honest with me. While they were alone, how many times do you think Light and Fennix called out for each other compared to when they called out for you. As 'friendly' as they are to you, you're just a shadow to them."

"That's not…!" Fennix stomped, but Lilac held out a paw to stop her.

"I don't know what you've been through, but I figured something out during this time. You're not wrong, I've kept comparing my relationship to Light and Fennix with their relationship to each other and I am nothing but a shadow in that respect. But that's my problem. I keep comparing myself to them."

Lilac took a deep breath before continuing. "I can never be the Light that Fennix needs, nor can I be the Fennix that Light needs. I already know full well how important those two are to each other, and that I can never match that. And if I keep trying to, I might become something like you: a Pokémon so cold to the world that I want to send others into despair as well. But now I know that I don't need to be that. I can't be Light or Fennix, so I'll just be Lilac. I'll carve out my own relationship with the two of them. My own way of being important, that way our relationship stays forever strong. And I already know one way I can do that."

Lilac looked back at Fennix. "Fennix had trouble fighting you at first, despite knowing you were a fake. And I'm sure Light would have gone the same way. I can think and analyze in ways neither of them can. And that already gives me a role neither of them can have."

Lilac turned her attention back at Marshadow. "So no, I will not be a mere shadow to them. And I will never become like you."

Marshadow laughed a few painful wheezes. "Well, didn't expect that. You guys are all full of surprises. I guess…I should have expected as much. Even after getting in your head, even after these illusions kept attacking, you still never gave up. I really should have…turned you to stone when I first had the chance. My mistake. Too bad…I'm never going to get a chance to make it again."

And with those final words, Marshadow's body solidified and he became nothing more than cold stone.

"Wonder what his story was," Fennix mused.

Lilac could only shrug. "At this point in time, we can only guess. Maybe Mr. Carracosta knows something, but we don't. But…I have a few ideas."

Before any of those ideas could be stated, however, a dark pool of shadows appeared next to Marshadow's body. That pool rose up and formed the dark shape of a pikachu. Eventually, the shadows melted back down into the ground, leaving Light lying on the ground, unconscious. The ruins behind them also lit up with a bright light.

"I guess…that's another trial complete, huh?" Fennix asked.

Lilac nodded, focusing on Light. "Help me carry him so we can get out of this poisonous atmosphere."

Fennix nodded and together they lifted Light up, put his forpaws over each of their respective shoulders, and dragged him into the light.


End file.
